Stranger
by Altril
Summary: Cowritten with sss979. It's not the warm welcome she expected... She's not the docile human THEY expected... TV series. Rated for language. Apologies to all of whose reviews were lost when we switched the story to my account.
1. Chapter One: Ship

**STRANGER**

_Help me if you can_

_Just that this_

_Is not the way I'm wired _

_So could you please,_

_Help me understand why_

_You've given in to all these_

_Reckless dark desires_

_You're lying to yourself again_

_suicidal imbecile_

_Think about it, put it on the fault line_

_What'll it take to get it through to you, precious?_

_I'm over this, why do you wanna throw it away like this_

_Such a mess, why would I wanna watch you_

_Disconnect and self destruct one bullet at a time_

_What's your rush now? Everyone will have his day to die..._

_Medicated, drama queen, picture perfect, numb belligerence_

_Narcissistic, drama queen, craving fame and all this decadence_

_If you choose to pull the trigger,_

_Should your drama prove sincere,_

_Do it somewhere far away from here!_

-A Perfect Circle

"The Outsider"

**CHAPTER ONE**

**SHIP**

_Hot_.

That word had been echoing in Peter Burke's mind for the past ten miles. Or maybe it had been twenty. Hell, for all he knew, they'd gone sixty. That was an interesting thought to consider. Once upon a time, he could've gone this distance in an hour in even _less_ than an hour. What he wouldn't give for a dirt bike right about now...

But that wasn't going to happen. _Come back down to Earth, Pete_... Or at least... what had once _been _Earth. He wasn't entirely sure _what _it was now, the long-lost planet of Apeworld...beyond the charted ends of the universe. Hell, it might as well have been for as close as they were to home...

The tinkling of the brook in the not-too-distant foliage was welcome relief: a promise of fresh water and maybe even a place to cool off. He'd been waiting for it - _praying _for it - for more than an hour now. The singing sound of the water flowing over the rocks confirmed it: there was still a God. Now if only the water was cooler than the temperature of the ground, which seemed to be burning his feet _through _his thin-worn shoes...

"I think I know this area." He glanced back, over his shoulder at the chimpanzee who was trudging a few steps behind, looking around as if he were in an art exhibit. "Yes, I'm quite sure of it." He shook his head, seemingly awestruck. "My, we are _quite_ far from Central City! I did not realize we'd come this far!"

"How far are we?" Alan asked, pausing and wiping his brow with the back of his hand.

Galen shook his head, "Oh... days and days." He gestured to the brush in front of their path. "I believe the creek just ahead runs into Kotar City..."

Pete's eyes narrowed, but only briefly. "Sure it does," he answered Galen. He glanced toward the sound and felt his throat burn, then back at Galen and offered him a slight smirk. "Just like the last one lead us straight to Urko. Nice to have such a competent tour guide isn't it, Alan?"

Alan shot him a look, but he ignored it. Galen straightened, and hesitated a moment as he tried to determine whether the statement was a real insult or only jesting on the part of his friend. "Now, there was _no _way I could have known that Urko was in that village," he stated. His glare was oh-so-slight, but it was enough to trigger Pete's half-smirk into a more pronounced grin. "Not any more than _you_ could have."

"We're lucky that Galen knows this area at _all_," Alan mumbled, turning and staggering through the brush toward the much-needed water.

"Indeed," Galen agreed with a grin. "You two would get into all _sorts_ of trouble without me..."

Pete rolled his eyes, and ducked out of the way as a branch snapped back and very nearly hit him in the head. He waited until it had already attacked Galen before giving a "Heads up!"

Alan slid down the dusty bank of the creek, followed closely by his human friend, and staggered to the crystal clear water of the stream. It wasn't a very wide creek, or deep. With a running jump, any one of them could probably make it to the other side. Still, Galen kept a safe distance, observing with slight amusement as Pete shoved Alan towards the water. Alan stumbled, but caught himself _just _on the edge. Sooner or later, one of them was going to get wet. Galen didn't want it to be him. Therefore, he was going to remain right where he was.

"Come on, Galen, the water looks nice..." Pete staggered a bit too close to the water's edge and grabbed a branch just in time to keep himself from falling in. Even so, his foot got wet.

Galen barked a laugh and shook his head. "Oooh... I don't _think_ so. I'm staying _right _here and staying _dry_." Shaking his head a bit at the two water-loving humans, he craned his neck to look down the stream. He couldn't _see _where it ran through the city, but he knew it couldn't be more than a mile from where they were.

"Say your prayers Alan... time for a baptism."

Galen looked just in time to see the two of them tumble into the water. Alan staggered to his feet and shoved his friend down into the knee-deep water, but the slight smirk on his face made it perfectly evident that there were no hard feelings. Galen shook his head again, and returned his gaze upstream.

"You said something about a city nearby?"

Galen's eyes turned briefly to the blond-haired man who was again on dry land, and filling his canteen. Pete was still in the water. "Yes," Galen nodded, "Kotar City. It's not far from here."

"Yeah, how far?" Alan prodded.

Galen shrugged a bit and looked again upstream again. "Oh... not more than a mile, I suppose." Suddenly, he shook his head. "Oh, but we can't go there. It's absolutely a bad idea."

He looked back to his two friends as if he actually expected them to just take his word for it. Both of them were staring back at him blankly, waiting for an explanation. He sighed. "They have a sort of... reputation," he explained. "You see... for _me _to go there would be no problem at all... In fact, I have an acquaintance who lives there. But for _you _two to go..." He laughed slightly, but it held no trace of humor. "That is an entirely different story."

"Uh huh," Pete's voice dripped with sarcasm and cynicism in equal amounts, "Just like it would be 'different' for a black man to walk into a KKK meeting. I think we get the picture."

Galen's head tipped to the side as he attempted to make sense of that statement. "KKK?", He chose the most obvious question from the many he _could_ have asked.

"Ku Klux..." Pete trailed off at the confusion in his uneducated friend's eyes, "Never mind."

Alan looked upstream, in the direction that he assumed the city was. It seemed to be the direction that Galen was most interested in. That the city wasn't human-friendly was not a real surprise. "How unfriendly _are _they?" he asked, more out of curiosity than anything.

"Oh, they'll shoot you," Galen answered simply, "With or without a cause."

Pete laughed again, just as cynical. "Yeah, what else is new..."

"It's getting kind of late." Alan turned to look up at the sky. "We're going to need to bed down pretty soon..." His eyes turned back to Pete. "I don't know how much further we can go east before we hit the mountains. We've been headed in the same direction for weeks, at least... I don't imagine we're still in what was once California..."

Pete nodded, glancing up at the colored sky as the sun set over the area. "Yeah, figure we're probably Nevada." He looked around. "How long before we hit the desert?" It wasn't really a question aimed at either one of them; he was musing to himself.

"That's a good question," Alan mumbled.

"I don't know, Kotar City is as far as I've ever come from Central City," Galen offered. "Its four days ride if you stay on the roads..."

"Yeah, maybe if we get lucky we can find a ski resort in the Sierra Nevada's," Pete offered, finally pulling himself out of the water. "This time of year they should be having discounts."

Galen stared. He was lost, and he didn't try to hide it. But this time, he didn't ask. Sometimes it was safer not to ask. Some times asking only made things more confusing.

"What we really need is a _map _of the area," Alan stated, his brow furrowed as he considered that.

"Yeah, but where are we gonna _get _one?" Pete added as he filled his canteen, "Unless maybe Chewbacca over there has one in his pocket."

Galen knew, by some brilliant insight, that he was the one being referred to, but he hadn't the slightest idea whether he was being complimented or insulted. It was often hard to tell with Pete... Instead of questioning it, he turned his attention to Alan. "Well I might be able to go into the city and get one..." he offered. "It should be no trouble for me. As I said, there's a friend of the family who lives there..." He tipped his head, waiting for some kind of approval.

Pete glanced at him, then at Alan, then back again. "Hey, whatever floats your boat."

Galen blinked, "Boat? I have no boat..."

"No, he means... whatever you want to do is fine," Alan explained. "But I'm not so sure it's a good idea for us to split up."

Galen laughed. "Oh, nonsense," he chuckled. "I'll be _fine_."

"Yeah, well, they're looking for _you _too, you know," Pete nodded to him.

"Oh, I'll be there and back in a few hours," he reassured. "I'm _quite _sure I'll be just fine."

He looked to Alan, the unofficial leader of the three of them, and awaited the expected release to go. Finally, Alan nodded. "Yeah, okay. But you make sure you're back in twenty-four hours, or we're coming after you."

Galen jumped a bit as he nodded his head, clearly pleased. "Oh, it won't take me _near_ that long." He took a few steps back, and then looked over his shoulder at the two of them. "Is there anything else we need?"

"Uh... yeah, can you pick me up a bottle of JD on your way back?"

"Pete..."

"Right, nothing then."

Alan lay on his back, staring up at the hazy, colored sky through the leaves and branches overhead and absently chewing on a weed from nearby. He wasn't sure what time it was exactly, but by the light from overhead, it was close to dawn. He was wide awake, and might have even been ready to get started with the day if not for the fact that Galen was still missing.

His thoughts wandered. He wasn't sure what had woken him, but whatever it had been, it did a darn good job. His mind kept returning to Galen, and he had to keep reminding himself that his friend was probably just fine. He'd probably decided to stay the night in the company of the aforementioned friend of the family. Dawn hadn't officially broke, yet. When it did... _then _he could start to worry. Not until then.

A sound from nearby made him sit bolt upright, and he squinted into the darkness. But there was nothing, a squirrel, maybe. If they _had _squirrels here... As he thought about it, he hadn't seen one yet. There were several species of birds, both familiar and unfamiliar, but no squirrels. He made a note to ask Galen about it later, and lay back down.

"What is it?"

Alan started again at the sound of Pete's voice, and looked to him before relaxing again. He looked just as much asleep as Alan had thought he was. "Nothing," Alan answered quietly. "At least I don't think it was anything." He reached for another nearby weed to replace the one that had fallen out of his mouth and lay down again. "I guess being hunted makes you paranoid sometimes..."

"I know what you mean. As a kid I always thought it would be fun to live in the woods without anyone tell you what to do or where to go, but now..." Pete let his speech dangle. Alan let it go. Growing up in large city hadn't exactly prepared him for this adventure, and he knew it. Better not to talk about it...

Pete rolled onto his back and opened his eyes to stare up at the overhead branches. "What time do you suppose it is?"

"Probably about six-thirty, at a guess," Alan sighed, and chewed again on the end of the weed. "It's got to be getting to the end of summer. The days are getting shorter. Sun's not rising as early as it used to. At least... assuming that everything's the same _now _as it was two thousand years ago..."

"Yeah, who knows," Pete mumbled, cynicism evident in his voice. "We could have blown the earth right off her course." He rubbed his face with his hands and sat up, raking his fingers through his thick, unruly hair. "Oh, what I wouldn't give for a good cup of coffee right now." He smirked as he considered that for a moment. "Or maybe a jelly filled donut."

Alan chuckled under his breath. Somehow, the weed paled in comparison to a jelly-filled donut. "You know what food I miss most often?" He paused for just an instant, even though it was a rhetorical question, "Chicken. Like, Kentucky Fried Chicken? With their mashed potatoes and cole slaw..."

Pete's stomach rumbled loudly. "Aw... see what you did now?"

Alan laughed again, quietly. "Sorry."

"Honestly, you'd think that the apes would have come up with some decent food by now. When was the last time we had any meat?"

"That would depend on whether or not fish counts..."

"Think of a nice juicy steak sizzling on the grill. Makes the mouth water..."

"Yeah, and think of farmers and their pitchforks when you get too close to their cows..."

Pete shrugged, but didn't answer. His mind was still clearly on the steak. Alan looked away, and his brow furrowed as he considered the rumors that ran rampant about barbaric Man. As if, like wild animals, they would eat any living thing they could get their hands on. The scary thing was, after the world fell apart, who knew what kinds of things Man was reduced to. Eating raw beef may have been the lesser of two evils. "Well, I'm sure they have their reasons," he concluded. "_Most _of their laws probably stem from what they saw the humans doing."

"Ape shall never kill ape..." Pete mused.

Alan glanced to him, and saw by the look in his eyes that they were thinking along the same, horrible lines. Alan looked away again, and thick silence hung in the air for a moment. "Has Galen ever mentioned who the first talking ape was?" Pete finally questioned. Alan opened his mouth to speak, but Pete corrected himself first. "Or, well... of course the general public believes that apes have always spoken. But don't we have stories about the first man and woman? They should too. I'll have to ask him sometime."

Alan shook his head. "I think the whole idea was to keep them uneducated and unquestioning. They don't want to know like we did. As a _society_, I mean." He sighed deeply. "When we didn't know something? We had teams of people who'd work night and day until we figured it out, even if it wouldn't benefit us at all to know. They're... not like that here." His voice dropped, turning a bit sadder. "If they were... they wouldn't be hunting us..."

"Yeah, well, if we ever get back... I don't think I'll ever hunt an animal ever again." He paused for a moment to think, and half-laughed at the ridiculousness of what he'd just said, "Besides the fact that I've never hunted before in my life."

Alan fell silent. To say anything more would be preaching to the choir, and he knew it. He took in a deep breath, and looked to the side. The black shadows had turned to shades of gray as the sun slowly turned the color of the sky a few shades lighter. "I wonder how Galen's doing."

"Oh, I'm sure he's fine," Pete mumbled. Alan glanced over at him, clearly worried. He had a feeling Pete was worried too, but knew he'd never admit to it. "He' probably lying in the lap of luxury while we sit out here in poverty."

Alan sat up, and tossed the weed aside as he hunched over his knees. "I really hate splitting up. It just..." He shook his head. "It _invites_ trouble..."

"Mmm," Pete cast him a sideways grin. "Maybe we should send out frilly little invitations to Urko's troops next time we plan to split. It would save a lot of time."

Alan shook his head and rose to his feet. It was too early for sarcasm... He walked to the edge of the water and knelt, splashing a handful in his face and pushing back his too-long, greasy hair. What he wouldn't give for a hot shower...

The sound of cracking branches and a quick approach made him bolt upright, spinning around so fast he nearly fell forward into the water. Pete swiveled his head as well to see where the sound came from. Both men tensed, ready to make a run for it if need be. They had been caught unaware too many times...

After a lingering moment of uncertainty, Galen stepped past the tree line, kicking off the weeds that had gotten tangled around his legs. In spite of the hour, he looked wide awake and plenty excited. "Oh, Pete! Alan! I have _wonderful _news!" He stumbled a few steps closer, and turned back to struggle for a moment more with a vine that had skillfully wound itself around his ankle.

Breathing a sigh of relief Pete leaned back against a tree and watched with amusement as Galen vanquished the vine that had captured him. "You brought food?" Pete asked, hoping for the best.

Alan dried his face with the bottom of his shirt before standing up and turning to face his friend. "Were you able to get the map?"

Galen struggled a moment longer with the vine, then turned back and stared blankly at both of them for a moment, "Map?" Then he remembered. "Oh! Map! Yes, yes, of course, but I have something _much _more interesting to share with you..."

Both men stared back with raised brows. Galen looked very smug as he held back the details of some great secret. "You actually _found _Jack Daniels?" Pete tried.

Galen blinked. "Who is Jack Daniels?"

Pete chuckled and shook his head, looking away, and Galen looked to Alan for an explanation. Alan crossed his arms loosely over his chest, waiting patiently for an explanation. "What did you find, Galen?"

Galen let the question go unanswered as he remembered the news he carried with him. He beamed, straightening a bit. "There's been another ship."

Alan choked. Pete's jaw dropped down to his toes. He nearly fell over, "A what! Are you sure?"

Galen nodded madly. "A city north of here reported it. They sent soldiers in the direction of Central City to give word to the High Council. And... I just happened to be there as they passed through. And... I just happened to overhear _everything_. There were _survivors_, Pete!" He looked to Alan and repeated it, "Survivors! Humans like yourselves!"

Pete found himself nodding slowly. Survivors... For the first time in months, there was a _real_ possibility that they could... what? Go home? Was that even worth hoping for? He couldn't help but feel a twinge of disbelief at the prospect. Every time there was a hint of possibility... there was always something to stand in the way. Usually, that "something" was Urko.

He glanced to Alan, and cringed as he saw the look on his friend's face. Total awestruck wonder. He could tell already that there was going to be no _chance _of keeping Alan's hopes from soaring. A few seconds passed, and finally Alan found his voice. "_What _survivors? Is the ship in tact? Are they from our time period? Have they been captured? Has anyone seen the ship?" Pete knew he was totally unaware of the fact that he was firing questions faster than Galen could even _hope _to answer them. "If they're sending word to the High Council it won't be long before Urko catches wind of this and who knows what kind of trouble they'll be..."

"Slow down, Alan," Pete interrupted him, "One step at a time, right?"

Galen shook his head, ignoring Pete completely as he tried to work his way through the questions. "Alan, I don't _know _all that. All I know is that there _is _a ship, and it's north of here - just a few hours, by my understanding - and that there were survivors."

Alan staggered a few steps and leaned against the trunk of the tree he'd been sleeping beside, his eyes slipping out of focus. A ship. A few hours north of here. Maybe it even _worked_... _Not that it would necessarily do you any good, Alan... You still don't know how to get _home But even so, it was a gigantic step in the right direction.

"Look, Alan, if they sent a message to the High Council, Urko could already _be _there."

"Oh, no no no," Galen shook his head. "No, they were just riding through on their way to Central City. It will take them four days to get there, and four days to get back. Perhaps three if they ride quickly."

"Six days at least," Alan mumbled, still staring blankly at the ground.

"That's _assuming _they don't run into Urko on the way _there_," Pete warned. "There's _no_ guarantee..."

Galen's hands went to his hips and he tipped his head to the side. "Oh, _honestly_, Pete, would it make _one _bit of difference if there were? If there are more people out there like you, will you _honestly_ turn and walk away? After all we've been through already?"

Pete shot him a pathetic look. "I'm not _suggesting _we turn and walk away," he corrected. "I'm suggesting we be _careful _'cause if they're the new thing in town, Urko's gonna be just as interested in them as in us..."

Both sets of eyes turned to Alan. He was still staring, the awestruck, dazed look still on his face. Galen whimpered slightly, and looked to Pete for confirmation that Alan was indeed okay. Pete frowned, and waved a hand in front of Alan's face. "Hey, you okay?"

Alan snapped to attention, and looked to Pete with wide-eyed wonder. "Pete, do you _realize_ what this means?" Pete nodded. He understood. But Alan apparently didn't believe him. "There's another ship that came through the same time warp we did! It _wasn't _just a freak accident."

Pete opened his mouth to remind him that they'd already known that, but Alan cut him off again before he had a chance. "I mean... if we can find out what went wrong... if their ship is in better condition than ours was..." He faded out, eyes drifting again.

"Yeah, well, if we're gonna find that ship and its pilot, you can't be in a permanent state of comatose..."

"Do you really think it could take you home, Alan?" Galen questioned, tipping his head to the side. His voice rang with sympathetic hope for his friend.

Alan turned and stared at Galen for a moment. "It's a huge step in the right direction, that's for sure." He looked up at the sky again. "But if they've already sent word to Urko... we should get going." He glanced to Galen. "How much will it slow us down to go around the city?"

Galen considered it for a moment and shrugged. "Oh, an hour at the most, it's not a very large city." His voice turned firmer, "And going _around _it is a far better option than going _through _it, I assure you."

Pete stooped down, picking up his knapsack and tossing Alan's to him. He slung it over his shoulder and looked to the north. "Alright... let's go find that ship..."


	2. Chapter Two: Infiltration

**CHAPTER TWO**

**INFILTRATION**

Pete cocked his head to the side as he stared at the sandy brown buildings of the "city". A few thousand years ago, it wouldn't have even qualified as a village. But then, even Central City, their largest settlement, was no bigger than most of the little hick towns in the world he had grown up in. This place was not as large as Central City, but it wasn't as small as some of the others they'd seen since their fun and exciting adventure had begun.

"So does the love of humans extend this far north?"

Galen glanced at him. Going all the way around a Kotar City for the sake of not being able to walk through it had worn on Pete every step of the way, and he knew it. Still, it had been necessary. Here, they were not in as much danger as they would have been there, but it was still not the safest place in the world for them.

"We won't draw much attention to ourselves here, if that is what you are wanting to know."

No upstanding citizen would outwardly admit to being human lover; that was one of the worst names that a good, moral ape could be called. This particular city wasn't as anti-human as Kotar, but then again it wasn't as liberal as some of the other cities that they had been through.

From what he could gather in Kotar City, neither the prefect there nor here believed in owning humans. They shared the belief that the only good human was a dead human, not even worth to be used as a slave or servant. That they contaminated everything they touched. The difference between the two cities lie in the fact that while citizens of Kotar openly hunted humans, and executed them just outside the city limits, visitors were allowed to safely bring humans into Pagon City. They were only allowed for a short time, and required to be _very _well behaved, but as long as they did not stray too far from their masters... they were relatively safe. Galen couldn't help but wonder how the citizens were reacting to the survivors of the crash.

"We need to get to that ship before Urko does." Galen snapped out of his thoughts and turned to look at Alan. The human had been unable to calm himself since he had heard about the ship. Galen found himself bearing equal parts of excitement by what they might find, and concern that it could be devastating to Alan if in fact there was nothing to find at all...

"So anyone got a plan?" Pete was scanning the city below them, probably looking for what might constitute the city jail. _His_ voice held no expectation, and Galen guessed that he was more inclined to feel concern than excitement. "Since we've ruled out running into the city and announcing ourselves?"

Alan's eyes narrowed just slightly on the city below, and then he turned to Galen. "How well do you know this city?"

Galen shook his head. "Not at all, I'm afraid." He offered a sympathetic smile. "I was lucky to have an acquaintance in Kotar." He shifted, and tilted his head slightly. "You know, he told me that this was used as a military outpost until a few years back, when other families started moving out here." He paused for a moment to ponder the interesting but useless piece of information. "But personally I've never been this far east."

Pete squinted, shielding his eyes from the early afternoon sun. "You know... this would be a _whole _lot easier if we didn't have the sun in our eyes... know what I mean?", Galen glanced to him as he pointed. "That looks like it's most likely their jail... but I dunno if it's such a good idea to walk up and knock in broad daylight..."

"Urko has no trouble traveling during the day," Alan reminded him. "Every minute we spend here, he gets closer and closer. And if it's four day's ride from Central City here... I wouldn't be surprised if he showed up in two."

"Well, maybe I could help," Galen volunteered. "If I said I was an official from Central City and needed information to report back to Zaius with."

Pete shot a skeptical look in his direction. "How you gonna explain that you got here so quick from Central City?"

"Yeah, quicker than Urko," Alan added.

Galen considered that for a moment. "Well, I was commissioned by Councilor Zaius to investigate all claims of strange humans in the known territory and I so happened to be in the messenger's path."

"They've already got a messenger reporting to Zaius," Alan pointed out.

"It wouldn't work," Pete agreed.

Galen half-glared at them both. "Now, that messenger knew nothing about the surviving humans or the ship other than that they existed," he reminded. "Zaius will want more detailed information than that."

Pete shook his head and looked away. "I still think it's a stupid risk. We're better to just wait until nightfall."

"Oh, and what?" Galen demanded, feeling his frustration grow. "Walk up to the jail and nicely ask them to release the humans?"

"Wouldn't be the first time," Pete answered, not half as irritated as his friend.

"You'll be attracting a lot of unnecessary attention to yourself in the process," Alan reminded. "What if someone recognizes you?"

"This far east?" Galen laughed. "My dear boy, even the local patrols who have been commissioned by Urko to restrain me do not recognize me! And besides, we can wait until it gets closer to dusk if it will make you feel any better."

There was no answer to that. Galen looked back and forth between the two of them, reading the uncertainty on both their faces. "Oh, come now, do you honestly believe that it is any less risky for two humans to walk up to the jail doors and confront soldiers and guns at point blank?"

Pete looked away. As much as he hated to admit it, Galen was right. It would be no less dangerous any way they did it. Besides, once that messenger reached Urko, he would ride day and night if he was able, and he would be here in half the time it might otherwise take. Alan was right about that. They were on the clock. They needed twice the sex with half the foreplay, and until Urko arrived, they would be no worse off for being recognized and captured than they would for standing on the outskirts of the city and watching. Alan wasn't going to leave without those survivors, so they might as well be just as trapped as they were...

At long length, Alan gave a heartfelt sigh. "All right, we'll go in."

Galen nodded his approval, and smiled. "I have to say that you two look pretty scruffy for being Assistant Heluis's servants..."

Pete shot him a pathetic look, and then turned his gaze back to the city. "Yeah, what else is new..."

"So," Galen paused. "Do you still want to wait till it gets dark?"

"Time is of the essesence," Alan protested. He was far too jittery to sit still. "We need to get them out as quickly as possible."

"But," argued Galen, "if we wait until dusk then it will be plausible that we have been traveling all day and that will account for our appearances. Besides, we won't be able to break the survivors out until after dark anyways. Once we're inside the city, we will have to account for our whereabouts."

Alan frowned, and finally sighed. He looked to Pete, and received a shrug, then turned back to Galen. "Okay, you win. But we set out as soon as the shadows start to fall."

Pete eyed him for a moment. He looked a lot like he was pouting. That brought a smirk to Pete's face, but he kept his mouth shut. One look at the assumed jail wiped the smile away, and he sighed. There were people in that building, maybe from their own time. He might not like the risk... but he knew damn well he couldn't turn his back on it either...

Pete was dozing, half asleep, not really aware of the time but still acutely aware of the world around him. He was also aware of the fact that it had been a good long time since he'd eaten. "I need food," he informed the sky.

Almost immediately a piece of bread hit him the face. He jolted, and it took him a few seconds for Pete to realize _what _had hit him and _where _it had come from. Galen quickly resumed a normal posture, trying not to snicker at the look of surprise on Pete's face. Usually it was Pete who surprised him, but this time the ape had gotten the better of him.

After a brief glare in his direction, Pete reached for the bread. "Thanks." His voice dripped sarcasm.

Galen smiled and nodded politely, and glanced up as Alan stood and stretched. The sun was nearing the five o'clock position in the sky and he knew Alan was anxious to approach the city. "Well, I suppose it is time for us to be moving on."

"You know what this tastes like?" They both glanced at Pete as he picked at the bread for a moment. Pete looked to Alan and smirked a bit. "Sawdust. Kinda stuff they used to serve in school cafeterias, you know? Sawdust and soy burgers. Soylent green..." His smirk turned a bit bigger.

Alan gave him a brief smile, but Galen's jaw hung slack. "You had to eat _sawdust_?" He was incredulous. And Pete and Alan thought that they were being treated poorly _now_? Who would serve sawdust to anyone? Surely no ape would stoop that low!

Pete shrugged as he stood, still picking at the bread. "Sometimes you don't know _what _you're eating..." His grin remained in place.

Alan was already pacing. One glance at him and Galen shouldered his knapsack. "We had better be getting along," he mumbled. "It will take us about ten minutes to get there, but we should come in by the road."

Pete yawned, and ate a few more bites, looking down at the shadowed buildings and then back at his friends. Finally, he took an exaggerated step back and gestured to Galen to walk first. "So how're you gonna explain no horse this time?" he questioned, amused.

"Oh, it was a sad fate that dear Quincy had a stone in her hoof that my incompitable servants were unable to get out."

"Quincy?" Alan hadn't really been paying attention until the name caught his attention.

Galen shrugged his shoulders as he pushed his way through the underbrush. "It will do."

Pete nodded as he followed alongside Alan. "So what happens when incomptible servants _revolt_?" he mused. Galen gave Pete a quick glare and continued his way to the road.

The city was not completely shut down, but the streets were emptier than they might have been earlier in the day. The trio attracted a few stares, but they were not approached. Pete's eyes wandered over the buildings, and he picked out a few he knew to look for. A hospital, a school, a jail and what might have once counted as a police station. He wasn't sure what they would call it in this time and place... He kept a safe - "respectable" was the word Galen always used - distance behind his "master", observing the world around him carefully.

Finally, he leaned toward Alan. "S'it just me," he mumbled, his voice low, "or are there _no _humans in sight...?"

"Yeah, I wonder where they all are."

Pete nodded, and kept his head down. He was clearly uneasy. Not afraid... but uneasy. "I was joking when I asked if they were as human friendly as that Kotar City back there." He gestured back over his shoulder. "But now I kinda wonder..."

Suddenly, Galen turned on heel to face his two "servants". "How many times must I tell you not to speak unless spoken to! I should have you beat!"

Alan cringed inwardly as he felt Pete stiffen at his side, and dropped his head respectfully. "Yes, master."

Pete was very careful not to glare as he dropped his head low. He knew the role, and he knew how to play it. Still, he had to bite his tongue, _hard_ every time. _Fuckin' college education and years of NASA training... for this._ He held back the growl. He wasn't mad at Galen; he knew his friend was just following the roles of society. It was a _necessary _act to follow if they wanted to stay alive. Still, something inside of him seethed at the humiliation, the way it always did when he was barked at like a dog. Somehow, it made his chest tighten even more to hear Alan voice his submission. _Colonel_ Alan Virdon, his _superior_! Fuck...

He ran his tongue over the back of his teeth, and kept his head down, emotions well masked. He'd trained himself carefully in that respect. The last thing he needed was to make Galen feel as if this... hate... was directed at him. It was not. It was directed at this entire place, and his own pride that made it so hard to fit in here...

"Good." Galen turned his nose up, and wagged a finger at them. "Then don't do it again or you will pay the price."

Every so often, Pete could laugh about it. Every so often, he found himself teasing Galen almost good-naturedly about the master/slave relationship they were so frequently presumed to have. But more often than not, it filled him with a sense of indignant anger that he masked with silence or with cynicism. He knew it was stupid. There was no _use_ in getting angry over it. It would make _no _difference whatsoever in the greater scope of things whether he obeyed and accepted it, or obeyed and hated it. He wasn't going to change the world with his emotions. And a part of him wished that he had the ability Alan had to simply let it roll off his back.

"Excuse me..." Pete raised his eyes to see who Galen was speaking to, but kept his head bowed. It was a young chimpanzee girl. Pete was no good guessing ages of another species, but he presumed she might be about seven or eight. "Do you know where I might find the prefect?"

The girl looked up at him, and tipped her head as she inspected the two humans standing behind him. Finally, she pointed to the side. "It's down there just a little ways, on the right."

Pete hung back - respectable, he reminded himself - as they approached the prefect's house. He'd come to recognize the markings by now. And he had a feeling he'd not be going in. Head still down, he said nothing as Galen approached the door, steadied himself, and knocked.

"Be careful, Galen," Pete whispered under his breath.

With an almost imperceptible nod, he was acknowledged. The door swung open and an older ape stood before them, eyes running over them all. His eyes seemed to linger on the dirty, unkept humans. "Yes? May I help you?"

Galen smiled. "Good evening, sir. If I may introduce myself, I am Helius." He tipped his head, still smiling in perfect comfort with his surroundings. "I was coming from Central City when I met up with your messenger about the strange incidents that have been going on around here..."

The prefect shot him a questioning look, but said nothing. He was not yet certain what that was supposed to mean to him. Of course, he knew of what "strange incidents" the ape spoke, but he was not entirely sure that he welcomed strangers' inquiries about them.

It took Pete all of two point five seconds to realize that this guy was _not _going to make things easy for them. Again, he silently wished Galen luck. "My servants and I are here to help investigate." He gestured loosely at the two humans, and Pete's eyes darted away from the prefect. "Unfortunately my horse became crippled on the way here so it took us longer than expected. Perhaps you could direct me to some lodgings where I might be able to spend the night?"

The prefect's eyes narrowed just slightly, and he inspected the figure standing before him. "On whose authority... did you say you were here to... 'investigate'? With your _human_ servants...?" The distaste was evident in his voice.

Alan could feel the hostility radiating from the prefect towards him and Pete. The ape was not being outright unfriendly, but his caution and distrust was evident. Galen had his work cut out for him...

But he adapted well enough, straightening just slightly at the prospect of being questioned. "I was sent directly from the High Council, by Zaius himself," he informed haughtily. He knew he was pushing it, but it made a convincing act... he hoped. "I am _sure _he thought that I would be treated with respect."

The ape studied him for a long moment, then stepped back, pulling the door open and gesturing him inside. "Please, do come in. Though I must insist that your... servants..." He cast another glance at the humans. "... stay outside."

Pete was heartbroken. Really he was. Somewhere inside, he'd really _wanted _to go into this high and mighty talking ape's home. Yeah, right...

"If you cause any trouble, I will be forced to punish you." Galen's tone matched his environment. "Stay here."

Pete waited until the door shut in his face, then let out the low growl that had been building in his throat. He turned, and leaned against the rock wall, arms crossed over his chest. He _looked _relaxed enough, but his eyes said otherwise. Just to his right, Alan propped himself against the wall. "Guess we wait 'til 'Master' Helius comes out." Alan surprised himself with the amount of sarcasm he was able to feel. Usually he left all that up to Pete. But something about being here, in this place where freedom was so close he could _taste _it... he found himself uncharacteristically impatient.

"Guess so." Pete's voice was low and clipped, and Alan glanced at him. He said nothing more, letting his eyes wander over his surroundings. It was a forced calm, Alan knew, but none of the passing apes - though they certainly did turn and stare - would be able to tell that. It was only his eyes that betrayed him, and Alan read them like a book. It was easy when all he really had to do was look inside himself, and the way he felt under his _own _mask of calm.

There was that he would have liked more than to rush over to the jail, break the survivors out, and go look for the ship. But that wasn't wise. In fact, it was flat-out stupid to take risks like that when there was a better way. Still, it was a lingering thought. While he had every faith in Galen... the helplessness of sitting and waiting for him to hand them success was painful.

Pete sighed, and lowered his head as he kicked at the dirt a bit. "You know... I've not had a whole lot of use for those nuclear physics classes around here..." His voice was cynical and sarcastic. It wasn't necessary for him to spell out what he meant by that; Alan knew. And no one else who might have heard him even knew what nuclear physics _were_. He was more educated than this entire city put together, and what the hell good did it do him here? That ground him every time he thought about it. And at the same time, it was as if a little piece of his pride died every time that he was forced to bow down to ape supremacy.

"Well, once we find that ship, those classes might come in handy. You never know."

Pete kept his head down. "You really think they left that ship intact, Alan?"

Alan glanced at him. He wasn't really _challenging _that belief, just questioning. "We can hope," he admitted. He couldn't bring himself to even think otherwise. Not yet. Not when it was so close...

A burst of laughter from inside the prefect's house interrupted his thoughts. He sighed, and shook his head. "At least the weather's nice," he offered.

Pete looked up at the sky, and his eyes lingered for a long moment. "So we're hoping... to make a working spaceship out of crashed remains that we _hope_ are still salvageable... and fly out into space?" He glanced at Alan, brows raised. "Or are you still hoping that we're gonna be able to read the disk and send ourselves back through time? 'Cause I'm a little fuzzy on my space/time continuum classes..."

Alan glanced over at him and realized that for once, he was unreadable. It wasn't hope, wasn't really cynicism... perhaps somewhere in between. "We won't know till we try," he offered. "What we really need to know right now is how to get inside that ja-" He was stopped as an ape couple passed by and glared at the two astronauts. As soon as they passed he continued. "Get inside that jail. But we won't know till Gal- I mean Helius, gets done talking with the prefect.

"Yeah..." Pete shifted his weight, glancing up and down the street. "We don't even know how many of them there _are_. Or what kind of ship it is, or even if we're qualified to fly it. We'd better hope to God that the pilot's one of those survivors..."

Alan looked away, turning his eyes to the sky. "Whether or not we're _qualified_ to fly it, we'd better learn fast."

Pete half-laughed at that, and smirked at Alan, "So how's _your _time-travel theory recall?"

"Well, I was informed that there _were _military personnel out here," Galen replied.

"We have... local patrols," Volar explained. "But they are hardly the experienced soldiers of your Central City."

Galen nodded. "Well, believe you me, I realize that humans are dangerous, vicious creatures. Oh, but I don't intend to put myself in harm's way."

"Of that I am glad." He was squirming again. "I would hate to be responsible for "So... as I understand it... you were out - _away_ from Central City - sent by Zaius to investigate happenings such as the one that happened so close to my city?" Prefect Volar was clearly disturbed by this. "Does this happen _often _that strange humans claim to have fallen out of the sky?"

Galen paused for just a moment as he gathered his thoughts and replied wisely. "There have been reports over the last few months of strange doings in the territories surrounding Central City. I was sent to investigate." He half shrugged. "Some time ago, there were two humans near Camac who claimed to have come from the sky and your report certainly raises my interest in light of such information as I already possess about _that _unwelcome incident." He watched the prefect as he paced, clearly uneasy. "We must do all that is possible to keep ape-kind safe, don't you agree?"

The prefect eyed him for a long moment, and then walked around his desk to sit down in the oversized chair. Galen had a feeling he would not be there for long. So far, he had been entirely unable to remain still. "And why would Zaius send you _alone _to investigate such... dangerous claims? Surely this is a job for military personnel." He squirmed, but remained seated for the time being, fingers playing over each other. _Goodness, he's more nervous than I am and I'm the one who's lying... _ "These humans _are _dangerous. They will _attack _without any provocation whatsoever..."any harm coming to you."

Galen laughed at the prospect, his thoughts racing. He needed to ask some questions of his own if he intended to get anywhere. "Tell me, how did you come upon these humans from the sky?"

The question raised Volar from his seat again, and returned him to his pacing. "Oooh... how should I know how they got here!" Galen opened his mouth to clarify the question, but wasn't given the chance. "They came in this... _thing_ they claim fell from the sky. I don't know how it got there!"

"Have you personally tried to verify this?" Inwardly, Galen smirked at the prefect's squirming. He was so fearful of that which he didn't understand... "How can you know that these humans are not part of an elaborate hoax? That would be quiet embarrassing..."

"Ooh... I do not want to _verify_, I want these humans _gone_! _Out_ of my city!" He was still pacing. Galen watched his movements calmly. "And as soon as Chief of Security Urko arrives, I hope he will take them away _immediately_."

Galen paused for just an instant. Indeed, Urko would take them away immediately once he arrived. There was no question about that. "Have you received any word about when Urko will arrive?"

The prefect shook his head. "I'm told it's about four day's journey to Central City just to _notify _him..." He clearly wasn't pleased with the amount of time it was going to take.

Eight days was, of course, subject to good riding conditions, and to the fact that Urko was _in _Central City. That was an interesting thought to consider. As they had last seen Urko, he was some ways from Central City. They would need to send a messenger to find him, and give him word. It may give them a few extra hours, if not days.

"I am interested, for the sake of the council of course, about these humans. Would it be permissible to see them?" Galen realized that he was treading on thin ice, but with the prefect up in arms and not thinking rationally, he hoped that he could get away with it.

But Volar shook his head. "No no no, absolutely not. When Urko arrives, you and he can do whatever you wish with those humans. But as long as they are my responsibility, I am taking _no _risks. They are _far _too dangerous to be approached..."

"I, uh... suppose you have someone guarding them in the jail then?" Galen played with the material on his shirt.

The Prefect nodded, still pacing. "Yes, yes, of course. I have every available officer stationed." The fear in his eyes was obvious. "You do not know these humans..."

Galen looked up. "If I may inquire, the messenger didn't say... How many humans were found? I'd like to have all this information so that my report back to Councilor Zaius may be complete."

The prefect eyed him carefully, not certain whether or not he trusted this ape. "There were five of them in all. Two were found dead within the... what did they call it? Ship."

"Ship!" Helius was absolutely dumbfounded. "How could it be a ship? It did not come from the water." He laughed. "These must be very strange humans indeed..."

"Indeed," Volar mumbled under his breath, "And dangerous. The sooner Chief Urko arrives, the better."

Galen realized he was not going to get any further with this conversation. Perhaps he could try again in the morning. "Well..." He stood, and nodded politely to the prefect. "I thank you for your hospitality. But I have had a long day of travel, especially since the loss of my horse, and I must find someplace to stay the night."

Volar looked to him and sighed again, but relaxed noticeably at the possibility of a change in topic. "I can arrange a place for you to stay," he offered, as any polite and well-mannered ape would. "But I'm afraid that your two humans will prohibit you from staying too long. I do not wish to have them in my city for any longer than necessary..." He was friendly, but firm. Galen had expected as much.

"That is understandable."

"There is an area a short ways to the east that used to be a horse pen," the prefect informed. "It has a canopy shelter. They may stay there. I will have a room made up for yourself."

Galen nodded again, more completely this time. "I thank you for your hospitality. I shall take my humans away immediately so that you will not be bothered by them."


	3. Chapter Three: Arrest

**CHAPTER THREE**

**ARREST**

Pete's eyes were darting over the area in spite of the fact that he was well aware that there wasn't a whole lot to see. It was a vacant area, where they wouldn't run the risk of "infecting" anything belonging to the apes with the disease of humanity. It had once been a horse pen. Now it was a crumbling fence around a beat-down area, with an equally rotted out canopy shelter in one corner. Not what he'd call a five star hotel...

But there were bigger issues to be discussed than how large the cockroaches got at this particular bed and breakfast. "Did he tell you anything _useful_?" Alan's voice was urgent. He looked like he was about ready to snap. It must have been sheer torture for him to walk through the city streets, a mere two paces behind Galen, and not voice his questions until they were safely out of earshot.

Galen flashed his two friends a smile, but then frowned. "Well, I found out that there were five of them." Pete watched, silent, not getting his hopes up yet. "Two were found dead. The other three are being held in the jail with every available guard guarding them."

"Three out of five," Alan repeated, lowering his head and looking away. He looked devastated.

"Still a pretty good chance, Alan," Pete mumbled, eyes locked on his friend. "You figure at least three of those five _had _to be qualified to fly it."

"Well, the prefect wants them gone as soon as possible," Galen continued. "And it'll be seven more days until Urko arrives." He sighed, and offered an apologetic look at his friends. "We aren't welcome for even that long because of my two servants."

"Yeah, and those eight days are assuming that Urko takes his sweet time," Pete sighed, raising his hand to his mouth and chewing on his thumbnail as he stared at the dirt.

"How many guards in all?" Alan asked.

"I don't know." Galen shook his head. "He didn't say a certain number. Just all of them."

Pete managed a half-hearted shrug. "Well, the city's not _that_ big," he offered. "All the officers they've _got _can't be as many as we've faced in Central City..."

Galen nodded. "Good point." He reconsidered almost as soon as he'd spoken. "But we'll need to be able to get away from here quickly."

"And get the survivors out quickly, too." Alan made sure that they were included.

Galen nodded, quiet, affirming noises forming in the back of his throat. Pete stared for a long moment at the ground, still chewing his thumbnail. "Okay," he started. "So we need to be in and out in, what, thirty seconds?"

"You need to be in, and out, before any gorillas start shooting at you," Galen said conclusively.

"Probably thirty seconds," Alan confirmed. "Forty-five would be pushing it."

"Got a grenade?" It was a joke, but Pete was well aware that it wasn't all that funny. Even he didn't smile.

Galen tipped his head. "What's a grenade?"

"That thing we used to get _you _out," Pete mumbled, half-heartedly.

"Oh." Galen glanced at Alan and did a double take. His friend was pacing, head down, arms across. Galen's eyes followed him, back and forth, back and forth... Finally, Galen turned to face him fully. "Alan?" He looked up at the sound of his name. "Alan, would you _please_ stop pacing back and forth? You're making me uneasy just watching you..."

"Sorry."

The blonde man propped himself up against a rail. Galen's eyes remained on him for a moment, then turned to Pete just as he dropped his hand. "Look, we were in and out of Central City's jail, _with _Galen in thirty seconds easy. Before Urko could run from the next room." He glanced back and forth between the two of them. "There's _no _reason we can't get in, grab them, and get out, _if_ we know who's got the keys. 'Cause best I can tell, we're gonna need 'em."

"Yeah, that's the problem," Alan mumbled.

"_Knowing _who has the keys, and being able to _get _them are two _completely_ separate things," Galen reminded.

"Yeah, but it's kinda hard to get 'em if we don't know where they are..." Pete answered.

Alan's eyes fixed on the ape standing between them. "Galen, you've _got_ to get into that jail," he stated. "We need to know what it looks like, how to get in and out quickly. A... layout of the place."

"And who's in charge," Pete added.

Galen shook his head. "I thought you would want me to attempt as much," he answered. "But I can't get near the jail. The prefect won't allow it."

"Oh, come on Galen..." Alan shot back, disbelieving. "There's gotta..."

"Don't 'come on Galen' me," the chimpanzee cried. "I am telling you there is no way I will be..."

"Well then we need another way in," Pete interrupted. He looked to Alan. "I don't think either one of us would have a hard time getting ourselves thrown in jail."

Galen's eyes widened. "Oh no. No no no..."

Pete ignored him. "I'll go in, check it out, find out where the keys _and _the prisoners _and _the exits are... you come in and I'll relay everything and we'll be out quick. Easy." It wasn't easy. He knew it. But he wasn't ready to let it go yet. If Galen couldn't get inside, it was their only way to check it out.

"We won't have the luxury of communication back and forth while you're in there," Alan stated.

"So we'll only get one shot," Pete inferred. "How's that different from any other plan we've ever had?"

Galen's jaw was dropped as the two humans discussed their plans as if he was not even standing there in their midst. "Now wait just a minute!" he broke in, feeling his frustrations mount as they both stopped, and turned to look at him. "And if this plan of your fails just _who_ is going to get you out of that jail?" The both of them stared back at him with expressionless faces. "What if they capture you _both _in this crazy attempt; I have no authority here! The prefect won't even let me _near_ the jail, and Urko will be here in a matter of days!"

Still, they stared. They stared in that way they did when they had already made up their minds, and nothing he said or did could convince them to see things from a different perspective. He'd seen that look several times, and he wasn't terribly fond of it. "Alan be _reasonable_!" he cried. "Urko is on his way; there will be no _time_ if you're caught to get you out! You'll be _gift_ wrapped and sent back to Central City and to Urko's firing squad!"

"Look, Galen, you got a better idea?" Pete asked calmly, his face still the emotionless expression of finality.

"No, of _course_ I don't but you _can't_ expect me to just go along with a plan that's almost sure to get you killed."

Alan turned, and crossed his arms loosely over his chest, watching Galen with a pathetic look on his face. Galen was determined... but these were the two humans who had dragged him back to a plague-ridden village by the string of his loyalty. They were _also _the two humans who had placed him on a flying machine and sent him jumping off the edge of a cliff. He knew he wouldn't win this argument any more than he had won either of those.

He also knew they were right. If they knew what they were walking into, it would minimize the risk when they actually made the move to break the survivors out of the jail. But even so... it seemed a _terrible _risk all the way around. In the attempt to break the survivors out, if anything went wrong, they could at least _run_ and get out alive. But if Pete was in there _with _them... Galen sighed inwardly as he realized what he already knew. Alan wouldn't leave those people even if his life _were_ in danger. It was likely Pete wouldn't, either. If something went wrong in any stage of this rescue, they were all going to die. It was that simple.

Galen hissed. "Oh... _fine_! Do it your way!"

"No, really, if you got a better idea, I want to hear it." Pete didn't want to just "do it his way". He wanted to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it was the only way to do it, _before _he put all their necks on the chopping block. "He _won't_ let you near that jail. And that kinda limits our options for how to get into it."

"We have to get into that jail any way we can." There was an urgency in Alan's voice that was unmistakable. "We _can't_ just run in there blindly."

"There may not be a lot of gorillas here compared to Central City," Pete continued, "but I bet dollars to pesos they can still take the three of us out if it comes to that."

Galen sighed, and once again tried the voice of reason. "Maybe the prefect has a set of keys to the jail in his house. I could always try to take..." He stopped when he realized the looks he was receiving, and sighed. "Bad idea." He frowned deeply as he realized what he was saying. "But Pete, whether I get caught stealing keys or you get caught doing god-knows-what, we'll both end up in the jail! And I would certainly receive better treatment than you would."

Alan's arms crossed a little more firmly. "And if anything should go wrong, we would have _no _chance of reasoning our way out of it."

"And you think I would have a chance of getting _him_ out?" Galen pointed at Pete.

"A chance, yes," Pete answered. "Not a guarantee."

"I don't _like _putting our lives on a _chance_!" Galen cried.

"Our lives are based on the ability or inability to get those people out of there," Alan explained. "If we're unable then anything else is a shot in the dark."

"Why don't you let me try and draw some of the gorillas away... and you can inspect the jail _that _way?"

Both of them gave him utterly pathetic looks in response. "Galen, how long do you think you're gonna be able to keep them away?" Pete demanded. "Long enough for us to search the jail and every guard in it for the one with the keys?"

"Or do you suggest we attempt a surprise attack?" Alan added. Pete shot him a look, but said nothing. He didn't need to. Alan already knew how stupid that idea was.

"Oh, now _that_ would cause me to seriously question the intelligence I thought you so highly capable of."

"If we don't know what we're up against, we got no business runnin' in there," Pete agreed. "We might've done some surprise attacks in the past but we always knew who we were surprising..."

Silence descended on them. Galen looked at the sky, turning darker by the minute, and sighed. "The prefect will be wondering where I am," he mumbled. "Can't take too good of care of you."

Pete stared for a moment, then briefly raised his hand to his mouth again, chewing on his nail for another second. His mind was racing, and coherent thought was a bit out of his grasp. Alan cast a quick look to him, then back at Galen. "You'd better go," he sighed. "Pete and I will figure something out. Maybe it would best if you didn't know anyways."

The chimp sighed and shook his head. "If you say so..." He was resigned to whatever they decided. He knew they would indeed figure something out, and that he might not entirely approve of the outcome. Nevertheless, if the past was any indication, whether or not he approved, they may very well be right. Then again, all too many times, their fates had been left to chance.

He turned, and walked a few steps before Pete's voice stopped him. "Hey, Galen..." He glanced back over his shoulder and saw his friend's eyes locked on him. "You trust me?"

Galen blinked. What a strange thing to ask... He turned fully to face him and tipped his head to the side. "Of course I trust you; what kind of a question is that?"

Pete offered a smile - one that was completely forced, Galen could tell - and shook his head. For a long moment, the chimpanzee didn't move. Then, finally, he turned away, glancing back over his shoulder every few steps until he was a safe distance from the pen.

A human on a casual stroll through the streets of Pagon attracted the attention of every ape he passed. Pete was well aware of it. He could feel the eyes on him, and half expected to be stopped before he even reached the prefect's house. That expectation dimmed, though, with every ape who turned tail and ran at the sight of him. One would almost think they were afraid of him. Maybe it wasn't him, specifically. More likely, it was the disease of humans in general they feared...

Pete let the hostility build up his own mood, and slowly managed to put himself into the mind of the character he intended to play. It was only then that words began to come to him, and he realized what he intended to do and say when he arrived at the prefect's house.

He banged on the door with the side of his fist, and put his head down to shield his eyes from the morning sun. It was only a matter of seconds before the door swung open. "Good mo-" The prefect stopped short as he saw it was a human who had come to beat on his door. Over his shoulder, Pete caught a glimpse of Galen, rising from what looked to be a breakfast table.

"I need to see Master Helius," Pete stated firmly.

The ape was clearly shocked to hear such words come so boldly from a human. "Why, what manner of business do you a human have to make demands of an ape? How dare you!"

Pete shot the prefect an angry - but carefully measured - look, and turned his attention to "Helius" as he approached behind the prefect. Without wasting a moment, Pete straightened just a bit, and spoke boldly, just shy of directing anger specifically at Galen. "Master, you gave your word that we would leave here first thing in the morning and the sun is already high in the sky..." He let the statement hang in the air, waiting to see how Galen would play it.

Galen stared blankly, wishing he had been informed of the plan, whatever it was. Finally, he realized that his "servant" was waiting for a response, and he snapped out of his trance. "Trunt, it is not your place to question my authority." Galen -Helius - stepped forward. "Go back to where you are staying and don't bother me until I call you." He stood a bit straighter as he fell into character. "I should have you whipped for such insolence!"

"Trunt" was distinctly aware of the fact that those passed were slowing to watch the scene unfold. "But you gave your _word_!" he cried, still bold but nearing frantic in his tone. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the prefect, already appalled that a human would walk to his house and bang on his door and now about to hyperventilate.

Helius lowered his voice to a hiss, making it perfectly clear that he was not intending to cause a scene. "It is not up to you when we leave," he stated firmly. "Now I told you to get back where you belong!"

"You allow your human to talk to you like this?" Prefect Volar demanded of Helius.

Helius turned and bowed apologetically. "No, sir, usually he is well behaved. But you know how humans are..." He turned and glared at the one standing at the front door.

"This matters a great deal to me!" Trunt stepped forward, easily intruding on _both _apes' personal space.

The prefect jumped back. "Helius, if you are not able to control your servant I will have him removed!"

"I want to go home!"

"This is an outrage!" Helius looked back and forth between the ape and the human, both yelling at him. "Now you see why we don't allow these beast in our village!"

Trunt backed off for long enough to give his master time to deal with the hysterical prefect. "Sir, I will take care of the problem immediately if you would just give me a little time."

"Time! What time do you think we have?"

Pete watched. To his own ears, his act didn't sound terribly convincing. But he didn't have to put on an Academy Award winning performance. All he had to do was stir the pot, and it looked as if it was starting to simmer quite nicely. He gave second thought to attacking the prefect, but decided that was more likely to get him _shot_ than arrested.

"Don't worry, sir, I'll take care of it." Helius turned to him and straightened. "Come, Trunt, back we go." He stepped toward the door, preparing to lead his servant back to the corral. "I'll be right back. Sorry for this little... mistake."

"Mistake indeed!"

Trunt planted both feet firmly on the porch of the hut and blocked the path. "No."

Helius had no choice but to stop short. For just a moment, both apes blinked at him. "Are you telling me no?"

"I'm telling you I want to go home! And I am not going back to that _cage_ while you sit and drink with the prefect!"

The prefect's jaw dropped. Trunt pressed forward, backing his master up a step, into the house. "You gave your word." The tone was blatantly threatening.

"You are going back to the corral _now_!" Helius threatened right back. He shot a concerned look at the prefect, then turned back. "Go!"

That look of concern was a card well-played. Pete knew it wasn't real concern. Galen wasn't stupid; he knew what was happening. But at the moment, he could only play along. Anything more or less would compromise his position.

It was down to the wire, and the prefect still hadn't called a guard. They could go on like this for another ten minutes, or Pete could take matters into his own hands. He chose the latter, and lunged forward, his hand immediately at Galen's belt.

"Aah!" Galen had known Pete was about to do something, but he certainly hadn't expected _that_! He fell backwards, trying to get out of the way and nearly falling over the prefect in the process.

"Guards! Help! Guards!"

"Stop! I order you to st-" Helius was cut short by the glint of a knife.

"Guards!" The prefect was not so incapacitated.

The prefect's loud cries triggered something in Pete, and the part of him that had still been only acting suddenly became lost in the role. The small part of his mind that had been wondering just how stupid he would have to be to pull a knife on his master, in a prefect's home, in a city of armed guards, and expect _not _to be arrested, was now lost in the fact that he'd just _done _it. Suddenly he realized he was holding a knife, a crime that was in and of itself punishable by death, and he was moreover holding it to his Master. Suddenly, he realized that if he ran... they were going to shoot him.

Galen watched him carefully, sharing a brief flicker of conversation that had been spoken before...

_"You trust me?"_

_"Of course I trust you; what kind of a question is that?"_

Suddenly, Pete's eyes changed color, becoming almost black. Suddenly, he'd spun around behind him, and had the knife pressed up against his throat. Galen gasped, eyes going wide in a split second of very real fear as years of firmly-ingrained teachings came to mind. You couldn't trust humans... They would turn on you in an instant... They would lie and cheat and steal and kill you when it was all said and done...

_Stop that! _he chastised himself. _This is _Burke _you're talking about!_

That reminder comforted him. He had known that all along. But the knee-jerk reaction had been long ago established. For that matter, Galen still wasn't entirely sure if Pete was still in control of his acting... or if the role had control of _him_. His trust wavered, but he didn't dare speak or move.

Pete felt Galen's tension and pulled the blade back just slightly. Instantly, Galen relaxed, just enough for Pete to notice. Outwardly, he still showed pure fear as two armed gorillas stormed in through the already-open door and did a double take. Certainly it was a scene they'd never witnessed before. They raised their guns.

"Don't shoot!" Galen cried, real fear setting in. Galen knew that Gorilla's didn't have the best aim. He didn't want Pete to be shot and he _surely _didn't want to be shot himself. "Please!" The guns were lowered again, just slightly. The soldiers were unable to shoot for as long as the human was hiding behind an ape.

The prefect stared at them, then at the human and Helius, then back again. "Don't just stand there, do something!" he yelled.

The guards looked at each other, raised their guns again, and lowered them again before turning to the prefect. "We can't shoot..." one of them stated, as if he didn't already know that. But they weren't sure what to _do _at this point.

The human stared at them, fear and horror written all over his face. Pete Burke could have thought of a thousand moves to make, but the human servant he was playing didn't have the _slightest_ idea what to do next... The move wasn't his to make. He glanced around frantically, looking for an escape other than the one being guarded by the gorillas with the guns. But he already knew there was nothing. He was trapped.

"Well, do something... else!" The prefect was nearing the point of breakdown. Clearly, it was too much for him to handle: a human, in his home, attacking another ape. The gorillas looked back and forth at each other. If they shot, they could hit an ape. If they attacked, the human could kill the ape. Either way, they were out of options.

They had reached a standoff. Galen decided to take things into his own hands. He bent his arm, and shoved his elbow back into Pete's stomach. It wasn't enough force to really hurt, but it looked like it did. Certainly, it was enough force to give Pete the idea.

The human staggered back, his grip on the knife loosening as he doubled over, clutching his stomach. Instantly, the gorillas instantly had their guns raised again, and pointed directly at Pete, but shooting inside the prefect's house would only be at his command.

"No!" Helius quickly picked up the knife and grabbed his servant by the back of his shirt. "Don't shoot him. He is too expensive. He belongs to the High Council, not mine personally." It was the only lie he could come up with, but he doubted that any one would question the logic of it. They were all far too shook up.

Trunt allowed himself to be led by his master's grip, still gasping and nursing the horrible, excruciating pain of being elbowed in the stomach. One of the gorillas stepped closer, gun still aimed at Pete, and growled at him, gesturing with the rifle for him to move toward the door. The ape released his shirt, shoving him none-too-gently toward the door.

"Is there a place you can lock him up?" he asked Prefect Volar. The ape was now slouched in a nearby chair.

"Lock him up?" one of the gorillas cried. "I will have him executed immediately!"

"You most certainly will not!" Helius replied firmly, still rubbing his neck. "He is the property of the High Council and you will answer for _any _injury he sustains."

Pete continued nursing his imaginary pain, but his eyes darted back and forth. Immediate execution was not part of the plan. "But he has attacked an ape!" the gorilla protested. "That is absolutely..."

"... The High Council's problem to deal with," Helius cut him off.

Volar waved at them. "Ooh... _shoot_ the beast already."

"No!" Helius protested, stepping forward. "If you shoot him, the High Council will have to train another servant and I guarantee you there will be _personal _consequences that you will suffer once Zaius speaks to Chief Urko about it!"

The mention of Urko made both gorillas straighten. Galen relaxed just slightly as he realized he had their attention. "Now, Urko will be here in a few days," he reminded them. "Send this disobedient servant back with him and you will be able to wash your hands of the whole messy business. Until then..." He turned to the human and pointed. "Lock him in your jail where he can cause us no more trouble. It would be a shame if one of you had to answer to the High Council for any injury he may attain..."

They looked to each other, then to the prefect. Volar waved at them. "I don't care _what _you do with him, just get him out of my house _immediately_!"

Pete straightened as the end of a gun hit him between the shoulder blades, and he was shoved none-too-gently through the door. He knew where he was headed. Pete was careful not to instantly recover, but he was even more careful not to stumble. He'd probably end up shot if he did. He walked on his own too feet, just slightly unsteady, as he was led out into the street and toward the jail. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a light-haired human on the rooftop of the house across from the prefect's. In an instant, he was gone, and Pete's attention returned to the task of walking and being injured.


	4. Chapter Four: Survivors

**CHAPTER FOUR**

**SURVIVORS**

**Warning on this chapter for language. If it offends you greatly, please don't read.**

Galen was relieved to find that his other "servant" was in the horse pen, right where he belonged. For himself, Galen knew there would be no more trouble from the humans in this City. But the other apes certainly didn't know that. The guard stationed right outside the pen was proof of that. He glared at Galen as he passed, and received a polite smile/nod in return.

Aside from the fact that his canteen was empty and it was at _least _95 degrees out, Alan was relatively comfortable, sitting with his knees to his chest against the tree in the corner of the pen. He glanced up as a shadow fell over him, already well aware of who it was. "How'd it go?" Alan glanced up, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand.

Galen frowned deeply as he rubbed his neck. "I doubt I'll ever have hair growing there again."

Alan smiled just slightly, gauging the guard's distance before deciding that there was no way he could hear them as far away as he was. "Sorry, Galen," he offered sympathetically.

"I just wish you would _tell _me when you intend to do something so utterly... _human_!"

"There was no time," Alan explained. "You left last night before we finalized our plans."

"Well, it was some plan, believe you me," Galen half-laughed as he shook his head, but it held no humor. "Pete was convincing enough to nearly get himself _shot_."

The sympathetic smile remained in place. "I'm sure he would thank you for convincing them otherwise if he were here."

Galen sighed deeply and glanced over his shoulder at the guard, who was looking the other way. "If anyone asks, you are officially property of the High Council. Not that anyone would..."

Alan nodded. He could handle being the property of the High Council if it kept him from being shot. "The prefect won't want us around here for any longer than absolutely necessary," Galen continued.

Alan lowered his head again. "That's okay, I don't intend to _be _here any longer than absolutely necessary." He looked up again and his eyes showed a hint of concern. "He wasn't injured, was he?" He wasn't certain if he'd actually been hurt as he stumbled out of the prefect's house, or was just playing the part.

"No," Galen shook his head. "While he was trying to slit my throat, I was able to act as a shield for him."

Alan smiled a bit at the cynicism in his voice. "Pete never has been one for subtlety..."

"Yes, apparently," Galen replied dryly.

"Did you get to see the jail at all? Will they let you in and out to see Pete?"

"I followed them whether they liked it or not," Galen informed. "It isn't a very large building."

Alan nodded. "It didn't look very big from the outside. I don't imagine they have much use for it without humans in their city..."

"There are four different cells," Galen recalled. "I saw two different humans with strange clothing on. I assume they are your 'survivors'?"

Alan straightened instantly. "Are they alright?" A part of him _did_ realize that Galen had said two and not three, but he was too excited about the prospect that they had been seen alive to call attention to it just yet.

"I didn't get a very good look at them," Galen answered, shaking his head. "They are in separate cells, and Pete is being held in the third from the door."

"What about the guards?"

Galen sighed. "There is one guard posted inside with the keys and about seven outside, all around the building."

Alan nodded slowly. "Well at least we know what we're up against..." He bent his knee, and rested his arm over it as he stared at the dirt. "Is there a office quarters separate from the cells? Where there might be more guards?"

Galen shook his head. "I really couldn't tell much. I think so. I was not exactly given a tour..."

For a moment, Alan was lost in thought. Finally, he shook his head, breaking his trance, and glanced up. "I'll need your help tonight as soon as it gets dark. We can't afford to spend any more time here..." His look was almost pleading.

Galen nodded in agreement. "I think the prefect is more than a little nervous about us being here, but he can't very well cast us out with Pete in their jail."

"What do they plan to do with Pete? Do you know?"

"Send him back with Urko, when he arrives," Galen answered.

"Yeah, well, we need to be long gone by the time that happens," Alan mumbled.

"They shouldn't treat him too poorly." Alan glanced up again and met Galen's eyes. He could read the worry written all over his face. "They believe him to be property of the High Council, and they don't want to have to answer for mistreatment of a valuable, trained servant."

"Yeah, but the High Council isn't going to be quite so concerned for his well-being..."

Galen nodded in agreement, his concern still evident. "Oh, I just hope he _behaves_ himself in there..." The chimpanzee wrung his hands. "High Council or no, it only takes one moment of irrationality..."

Alan sighed, and looked away, staring down at the dirt beside him as he trailed his finger along it. He was well aware of the risk. But then... so was Pete.

Pete fell to his hands and knees on the hard floor of the cell. His arms ached from the grip of the gorillas who had stationed themselves on either side of him, and he could feel a bruise forming where the barrel of a gun had prodded him through the streets. Of course, he'd expected less than perfect treatment. For that reason alone, it didn't anger or even bother him. They were playing along with the plan just fine. Of course, his part wasn't quite as comfortable to play.

He pulled himself up slowly, and looked down at his hands. They had scraped the floor as he fell, and the scrapes were by now tinted red. He glared, and brushed them on his pants as he stood, and walked around the perimeter of the cell, inspecting his new surroundings. It was about the same as any other jail cell, stone walls and not much of a view. No chance of escape from inside and not easily penetrable from _outside_. The wooden door was the only way in or out.

He walked to it, and looked out through the barred window, watching as the gorillas chatted amongst themselves. He watched until the guards left, all but one of them. The clattering of keys, the open and shut of doors - he could only see one of them from where he was stationed, and knew that the other was the one he'd been brought in through - and then silence. The remaining guard set his gun against the wall and sat down in a chair, leaning back and preparing himself for a nap. Nice.

Pete licked his lips as he stepped back from the door, and realized he was extremely hungry. He hadn't had anything to eat since the night before, and from the looks of the sky, it was probably almost noon. He sighed, and walked to the other side of the cell, pulling himself up and looking out. Guards everywhere, damn... Alan and Galen weren't going to have an easy time getting in.

_When was it ever easy? _he asked himself. As it was, there was no reason that they shouldn't have shot him without a second thought once he'd let Galen go. No reason except for the fact that he was "property of the High Council". And that wouldn't hold up for very long once Urko showed up.

Pete sighed, and walked to the door again. But there wasn't much to see. Until there were guards coming and going in the room, there was no reason for him to hang on the door. He ran his fingers through his hair, and moved over to the cot on the edge of the room. He wasn't the least bit tired, and didn't _want_ to sleep for fear that he'd miss his one chance to gain some useful information about the place. But there was all of _nothing_ to do until that one chance _came_.

He rested back against the wall, and slowly slid down until he reached the straw-woven cot on the floor. All there was to do was wait. He was left alone with the sound of his breathing, and his heartbeat, and nothing more. For a long time, there was nothing more to contribute to his awareness of the world around him. Then, the very faint sound of crying caught his attention.

His eyes darted to the far wall, but he remained perfectly still. It had become a force of habit by now to watch, and remain silent, until he was one hundred percent sure he knew what he was dealing with. But what he was dealing with appeared non-threatening. And even if it _were _a threat, it was on the other side of a three inch wall of stone. _The survivors..._

"Hello?"

No answer, only the quiet crying. A frown creased Pete's forehead. The sound was almost childlike, and distinctly female. He quickly ran through the women he'd known at NASA who held plans of actually going out into space at some point. It was very possible...

He stood, and walked to the other side of the cell, toward the thin crack in the wall where the sound had to be coming from. It was nowhere _near_ big enough to aid an escape, but it allowed sound through. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

"Quiet, human!" the guard shot.

Pete glared briefly at the door, and then turned his attention back to the wall, lowering his voice. "Are you okay?"

"No," Definitely female, and definitely not happy to be here. "I'm dirty and I'm hot and I'm hungry and I'm stuck on a planet with fucking _talking monkeys_! And I..." Suddenly her voice raised to a scream. "... _HATE IT! DO YOU HEAR ME? I FUCKING HATE YOU!_"

Faintly, Pete could hear the sound of her banging on the wooden door to the cell. "_Quiet_, I said!" the guard warned harshly.

"_Fuck_ you!" But by now her voice hoarse, and she resigned to her sobs.

Pete realized he was smirking. Damn, that girl had a mouth on her. Chances were, she wasn't from around here. "You new in town?" he questioned.

"Yeah, fuck you too," she shot through the wall.

"Hey, now..." He leaned back on the wall, pulling one knee up. "It's not all that bad, is it?"

He was pushing her buttons. He _knew _he was pushing her buttons. But some small part of him got an incredible _thrill _out of hearing a human speak her mind to a gorilla and the rest of the world. "Not that bad? Not that _bad_! My... I..." She was too angry to make a coherent sentence. "I swear to fucking... I... When I get out of here... When I get off of this _fucking_ planet...!"

Pete chuckled, "Uh huh. Why don't you just slow down and take a deep breath..."

"_Fuck _off!"

"... and tell ol' uncle Pe-uh... Trunt what the problem is." Damn, he hated it when Galen came up with names for him or Alan. Where in the world did he get those name? But he had to use it. Even though he already knew the girl wasn't from around here, he didn't want to seem too conspicuous. If he drew too much attention to himself, he would put Alan and Galen in danger.

"The _problem_..." She spoke a lot like a schoolteacher would to a disobedient first grader. "Is that I'm marooned on some god-forsaken planet in some god-forsaken galaxy in some -" suddenly, she lost her cool "- _GOD-FUCKING-FORSAKEN UNIVERSE_, with talking _GORILLAS _who carry thousand year old guns!"

Pete leaned back against the wall with his hands behind his head and a faint smirk on his face. "Well, what are you going to do about it?" he challenged. "Why wouldn't gorilla's carry guns?" It was the same song and dance _he'd_ been greeted with, and he thought he could guess her reaction.

He was only half right. She growled audibly - that part he'd anticipated. But her words were a different story altogether. "When I get to that High Council they're taking me to see, I am going to _find_ who's in charge here and I'm going to give them a piece of my mind."

He blinked. "And you think that'll actually accomplish anything?" he replied. "Besides getting yourself shot?"

"They are _going_ to get me _off _this planet and back to my family. And if they don't, when my father shows up here, he will make them all _very_ sorry they ever treated me this way!"

He stared. Very slowly, he ran his tongue over his teeth. She was _sorely_ mistaken if she believed that her human father had any _chance _of making these apes sorry for _anything_. But her words struck something in his subconscious...

"Oh really, and what is your father going to do about this? And _how _is he going to get here?"

"There are people who will be looking for me." She spoke firmly. She _clearly_ believed this to be true. "And they will _not _be pleased to find that I am being _manhandled_, and held in a _dirty prison cell_ at the whim of a _monkey_!"

"Ape," he corrected. He wasn't entirely sure _why _he had bothered to correct her, but he'd somehow felt the need. "They're apes."

"I don't give a flying _fuck_ what they are!"

_Okay, Pete, maybe that wasn't the brightest thing you've ever said..._ "Well, if that's the way you feel about it..."

"It is." She was _determined_. He could hear it in her voice. Whether or not her determination was going to _get _her anywhere was a different story entirely. "And you know what _else _I feel? I feel that you're as fucking stupid as the rest of them so just leave me alone!"

Pete sighed, and let it go. Playing dumb was never something he'd been _particularly_ good at, though he was certainly getting better the longer he stayed here. He leaned his head back on the wall and closed his eyes, sighing deeply. He knew he should try to rest. But he felt distinctly useless in here, and he didn't like that.

He stood, and walked to the door again, looking out again and seeing it just the same way it had been a few minutes ago. He checked the edge of the door, all the way around, and found that it was sealed as tightly as he'd known it would be. He went to the window, and saw everything the same as it had been the last time he looked. It was going to be a very long, boring afternoon.

He sighed as he walked back to the cot and sat down, resting his elbow on his knee and his head in his hand. He considered Urko, and the fact that he was headed here and would arrive in a few days. Funny, no matter how many times he cheated death, he couldn't really get _completely _used to it. Granted, being shot at didn't bother or even startle him _half_ as much as it had the first time it had happened. But there was something very unsettling about being locked in a cell that he _knew _he couldn't get himself out of, and knowing that he was set to be executed in a few days. But he trusted Alan. And he trusted Galen. His life was in their hands, and that was true. But it wasn't the first time. They would get him out alive, just as they had every time before.

The silence wasn't broken by the girl's crying this time. After a good fifteen minutes of nothing but his breathing, it was quiet snoring that attracted his attention. Quiet snoring that was not coming from the cell beside him...

Pete rose and walked to the door, peering out through the small, barred window. On his little stool, the gorilla guard sat propped up against the wall snoring. The gun was beside him, also propped up, and the keys were on the table. But there was no way in hell he could get to them. He was just as trapped now as he'd been with the guard awake. It was far too light outside to think that Alan and Galen would make use of the sleeping guard. All it really meant was that there was no longer an ape audience to the sound of his breathing. Still, he could use that to his advantage...

"Hey, you, girl," Pete dropped beside the crack in the wall again, trying to crane his neck to see her. But he couldn't see anything through the thick wall. The crack was far too narrow. Still, he could talk freely now that the guard was asleep. Now it was time to find out what she really knew.

"Fuck off." Unfortunately, she didn't seem like she was too terribly interested in cooperating.

"No, just listen to me," he tried. "What's your name?"

"Why the hell should you care?"

He frowned. Now she was the one pushing _his_ buttons. Oh well... Paybacks. "Look, I'm not from around here either. And I'm a wanted man because of it. I'd like to help you." He was trying hard to reason calmly with her. "I'd really like to know your name and where you come from."

She was silent for a long moment. When she finally spoke, it was clipped and cold. "Look, if you're a fugitive, the _last _thing I need is to make you a dear friend and ruin my chances of talking to the High Council."

Pete blinked again, and found himself staring blankly at the wall. "Why the hell would you _want _to talk to the High Council!" Pete's voice went up, but then he quickly lowered it to an angry whisper. "The High Council will kill you," he stated. "The last thing Zaius and Urko want is a human from the past. Trust me, I know."

"I'm not listening to you anymore." Her tone reminded him of a five-year-old who chose to plug her fingers in her ears and close her eyes rather than listen to instruction.

"But what I don't get..." Two could play that game. "Is why your father would come and get you. I can't think of any astronauts that are a father and daughter duo. Why would NASA send your father to get you?"

She growled audibly. "What the _hell_ are you talking about? No one is _sending _my father, he'll come all on his own, thank you very much." Pete's eyes widened, but she cut him off before he had a chance to speak. "And he _will _come. And these... _beasts_ had better _hope _that they're treating me well when he does!"

"You're not with NASA?" he managed. The thought of someone going into to space and not being part of the space program was a new idea to Pete. "Then how did you get here?" He did wish that she would lower her voice a little bit since he didn't want to wake the guard up.

"I don't know what the hell 'NASA' is," she clipped. "And what is it any of _your _business how I got here? You're just a fugitive prisoner."

Pete's eyes narrowed, and he glared at the wall. "I'm part of the NASA Space Program, lady," he shot back at her. "I know you're not from around here, and I don't know how the hell you got here without knowing what NASA is. But it's my business if my ass is on the line to bust you out of here, and you're givin' me a hard time!"

She laughed mockingly. "Oh. Great. Now there's a mentally unstable fugitive trying to plan my escape." She sighed. "You know, I think I'd do better _without _your help."

"_Damn _it..." He would've throttled her if he could've gotten his hands through the wall. "Look, what the hell is your name? I can't just going around calling you 'that thing in the next cell', now can I?"

"Britney Spears," she shot back.

_Finally_, cooperation. He sighed. Well, the up front and in your face approach didn't seem to work, so he decided to backtrack. "Okay now, Britney, the names Peter Burke."

"Thrilling," Her voice dripped with sarcasm. "The psycho has a name."

'_Great',_ thought Pete, '_and I thought I was the only one on this planet that was sarcastic. My reputation is going to suffer...' _"Is it completely impossible for you to pretend that you're not the wicked witch of the west for a few minutes?"

She paused for just a moment at the mention of something familiar, but only briefly. "I _don't_ want your help," she said coldly. "Get that through your head and we'll get along just fine. I'm not gonna _be _here long enough to be your friend, or to be any use to you."

Pete growled, frustrated. Fine. If she wanted to be nasty and sarcastic so could he. "Okay, fine. You go talk to the Council. And when they have you lined up in front of the firing squad give me a ring."

Fine. If she wanted to be nasty and sarcastic so could he.

"I'll be sure to keep it in mind."

Galen was as quiet as he could possibly be. Still, it seemed that every step echoed loudly and reverberated off the walls of the prefect's house. He kept his worry to himself, careful not to make a single whimper or sound as he slipped out through the front door and looked both ways down the barren street. Convinced that it was clear, he took off, skipping and running as quickly as he could toward the pen where Alan was being kept.

He slowed as he came closer, and caught a brief glimpse of Alan in the corner of the pen. They exchanged glances, and the human rose to his feet. Galen nodded to him, then approached the guard, his mind wandering over possible excuses and scenarios that could help him out this time. Ordinarily, he could have simply sent him off on a wild goose chase, off into the weeds to search for some threat that didn't exist. But this time, he didn't want to send him anywhere that he might cause trouble in the next few minutes. The less gorillas they had to deal with, the better.

The guard straightened as he came close. "What do you want? What are you doing here?"

"The prefect has requested that I take my human to the jail immediately."

The guard blinked in surprise, and Galen immediately knew that _that _excuse wasn't going to work. "At _this _time of night?" Plan B, then.

Galen nodded. "We don't want another incident like this morning, do we?" His voice was chastising. "Did you hear about that? Dreadfully awful. Not that I think _this _human would pose any threat because he's been nothing but a loyal servant from the start, but then I didn't really expect such actions like that from my _other _servant either."

Alan watched for a moment as the gorilla tilted his head back and forth, listening. Galen was clearly rambling for the sake of keeping the gorilla's attention on him, hands on his hips as he went on in an almost singsong voice. "You know, you just can't trust _any_ human nowadays!"

_You tell 'em, Galen... _Alan smirked as he skirted around behind the gorilla. The deepening shadows hid him as he made a run for the tall tree that stood near the guard. "My family used to have servants when I was young who had the _best_ manners... I mean, they were almost _civilized_...." Galen shook his head as if in disbelief. "I just don't know what's _become _of this world when human slaves begin thinking it's perfectly acceptable to _threaten _their masters... Believe you me, that human will be _thoroughly _disciplined once the High Council gets their hands on him again, I will make _sure _of it. I, you know, I've never been so frightened in my _life_! Horrible beasts they are sometimes..."

Galen continued to ramble, careful to keep his eyes on the gorilla and _not _on Virdon. He didn't want to attract any attention away from his story. He certainly didn't want to draw attention to the fact that the human was uncomfortably close. "Anyway..." But he was running out of interesting things to say about that topic. "The prefect and I were discussing, just a short while ago, that as it _was_ so _surprising_ that my servant would step out of line that way, and as humans _do_ have a tendency to pull stunts, that I should be concerned about both of my servants and any other human that might come into the city like that one that walked in unaccompanied just a short while ago? Around dinner time? Did you hear about that? Fascinating story..." For now, he still had the gorilla's attention. As long as he didn't stop to take a breath.

He didn't have to carry on much longer. Suddenly, Alan was on the gorilla, one forearm across his throat as the other jammed into the side of his neck. The gorilla was too startled to immediately react. Galen jumped back, out of the way, whimpering excitedly. He watched the brief struggle, then the gorilla collapsed in a heap on the dirt.

Galen stared, tilting his head back and forth. "How did you do that?" He continued to study the gorilla, though the question was clearly aimed at Alan. He hadn't looked like he had used much force at all...

"I'll show you later," Alan promised. "Come on, we don't have much time to get Pete and the survivors out." There was no time to try to explain to Galen about pressure points and nerves...


	5. Chapter Five: Rescue

**CHAPTER FIVE**

**RESCUE**

Commotion outside the cell signaled dinner. The brief jingle of keys, and two guns pointed in Pete's direction accompanied a third gorilla with a plate of "food". It was tossed in his direction, and the guard growled and grunted as he backed toward the door again. Pete watched him go, silently, and glanced at the metal platter. He wasn't quiet sure what he was being served, but he was hungry and by now knew the importance of food. He picked up one of the wafers and took a small bite. Yep, tasted just like cardboard...

The door closed, and the one leading to the cell next to his squeaked as it was pulled open. "It's about time."

Pete snickered to himself.

The gorillas grunted at her as well, and her metal plate clattered on the floor. "Hey!"

"Quiet human!"

The door to her cell slammed, and they walked to the next, pulling that door open. "Hey."

Silence.

"Hey! Human!"

"What, is he asleep?"

"I'm not sure."

Just give him his food and leave him."

"Human!"

Pete flipped the cardboard over and over between his fingers. Suddenly, he wasn't as hungry as he'd thought he was. Somewhere in a far corner of his mind, he was listening to the commotion in the other cell. Closer to home, he was pondering just what he wouldn't give for a Big Mac right now...

"Guess he's not hungry," one of the guards snickered.

"Do _you _want to answer to Chief Urko for disobeying the orders to make sure they ate?"

The snickering stopped. Pete glanced up, toward the door, becoming more interested. "Human! Get up!"

Pause. Then, the voice of the girl, much more weak and scared than she had been moments ago, "Jonathan...?"

Pete set aside the platter and pulled himself to his feet, walking to the bars on the door. He heard shuffling, and the cell door squeaked as they opened it more, but he couldn't see no matter how he craned his head. Suddenly, there was excited grunting from the gorillas, and Pete tensed just slightly. "Call Tharo in here! I want this human taken to the medical center immediately!"

"But Parus, there's no..."

"Do as I say! And send someone to alert the doctors so that they will be ready." Parus was the highest ranking guard, and the one with the keys. Pete knew that. And he sounded almost panicked.

"But..."

More shuffling and grunting, then Parus's threatening voice, "We will do everything we can to keep this human alive and _healthy _until Urko arrives. _Do _you understand me?"

Pete was starting to get a clue as to what was going on. "Jonathan?" the girl asked again, a little stronger this time but still very afraid. "_Quiet _human!"

"What happened?" Pete demanded. There was no way he could keep silent any longer, even though he knew he would probably get yelled at. Not probably... he'd almost definitely get yelled at.

But to his surprise, he was ignored. The gorillas were backing away from the cell. "_Do _as I say!" Parus didn't seem too pleased with their retreat.

One of the guards left, the other remained with Parus, shifting back and forth as he eyed the cell. "You will go and alert the doctors! _Now_!"

The gorilla nodded with his entire body and shifted toward the door. In a matter of seconds, there were three gorillas to take his place. "You will carry him out of here."

They exchanged glances. "But... Parus..." Their superstition was evident. _He's gotta be dead..._

"Jonathan!" The girl in the next cell was frantic.

Pete felt compassion for the girl, deep down inside - _really _deep down inside - but there was nothing he could do till Alan and Galen got there. In the meantime, he realized that if he was still trying to be a human from this time he had better keep his mouth shut. No human would try to speak to an ape without being spoken to first. _Yeah, and no human would try to slit his master's throat in public either..._

"Jonathan!"

Pete's eyes followed as Parus walked to her cell and banged on the bars with the butt of his rifle. "I said _quiet_!" He clearly did not like the loss of control...

"What's _happened _to him!"

Parus turned back to the gorillas. "_Now_! Carry him out!"

Galen tipped his head as he watched the jail from the shadowed crevice between the houses across the street. "What's happening?" He glanced back at his human friend. "Alan, look. Something's happening..."

Alan could see the blurry forms of gorillas, but he couldn't quite see much more over Galen's shoulder. "Can you see what they are doing?"

From the door of the jail came three gorillas. One was standing on either side of a limp, dark-haired human, draped between them, and the other was standing behind with a gun. Galen stiffened. "Oh, _tell _me that's not Pete..." His worry nearly choked him.

"What! Where?" He didn't really need an answer. He could see. But he didn't _like_ what he was seeing. "We have to do something _now_. If that's Pete..." He trailed off.

Galen didn't really need an ending to that statement either. He could guess. But he didn't _like _what he was guessing.

There were three gorillas remaining, and they all shifted as the three with the human passed. "Querus, Raca, get in here and disinfect this cell!" The guard at the door had to be the one in charge. "Atan, you come stand right _here_!" He was making his orders _perfectly _clear, lest any one of them misunderstand.

Galen squinted into the darkness, and whined quietly. "Oh... Alan, I can't _tell_..."

Alan suddenly realized that he was grinding his teeth and stopped. It couldn't be Pete; it just couldn't be. They'd come too far to have this happen. "Can you see what's going on?" He silently prayed that it wasn't Pete.

Galen whimpered again. "I... Not very clearly..." He looked up, and cursed the thick clouds overhead.

"Damn it..."

"There are three of them... and they're carrying a human with dark hair. He looks unconscious. It could be Pete, I don't know." His eyes darted back and forth between the small group and the jail. They were growing further apart.

"They're going _into _the city," Alan observed.

Galen whimpered slightly in agreement. "But what does that mean?"

"It means they're not taking him _away _from the city to _shoot_ him..."

That, Galen supposed, was supposed to comfort him. And in a way, it did. But there were so many other possibilities... and he was far more interested in the human that could be Pete than he was in the jail. "If he's still alive _now_..." Galen whined.

"Can you tell?"

"Well... he's not bleeding as far as I can tell..."

Alan stared after them, chewing on his bottom lip. No blood, that was a good sign, but if there were internal injuries then it could be more dangerous. He could have a concussion; it only took one good blow to the head and Alan was well aware that the gorillas weren't exactly _gentle _with their human prisoners. "We'll have to split up."

Galen looked back at him. "Split up?" He hadn't thought he could get any more worried until Alan said that.

"We'll have to," Alan stated. "It's the only way." He looked back to the jail. "There aren't many guards left and I can take the one posted outside the door. You follow the gorilla's and find out if that's Pete or not." He paused, seeing Galen's worried face in the shadows. "Look, Galen, I know its risky... but there isn't any other way to be two places at once."

Galen whined quietly. "And what if it _is _Pete, Alan? What can I _do_?"

Alan studied him for a moment, and shook his head. "I don't know. But either way, he won't get any worse for wherever they're taking him, and I've _got _to get into the jail. Just keep an eye on him and keep out of sight. I'll meet up with you..."

A few more soft noises escaped the chimp, but he didn't speak. Instead, he nodded, and slipped out from between the buildings, still keeping to the shadows as he followed the human. Alan watched him go, then crept out from the hiding spot. He was careful to stay in the deep shadows that engulfed the side of the buildings as he approached.

The guard at the door was shifting nervously. Alan noticed his uneasiness instantly, and tensed as he crouched, ready to run. The gorilla's eyes wandered up and down the street, but primarily lingered on the retreating figures carrying the human. Suddenly, he straightened, and tilted his head. Alan took a breath. Galen had been seen...

In one quick movement, he sprinted towards the guard, full tilt, catching his waist and throwing him back with all his weight. _So much for subtlety_... The gorilla had lost his grip on the gun, but he was more intent on wrestling his way out of the hold of his attacker than he was on grabbing it again. Alan noticed it immediately. True, his ape fist could easily break a human's neck, but Alan didn't intend to give him the chance. With a quick roll to one side, Alan's hand closed around the barrel of the gun.

The guard grunted and doubled over as it hit his stomach, and fell face-down as it cracked against the back of his skull. He didn't make another sound, and didn't move. Alan wiped his face, smearing the tiny beads of sweat that had appeared. He didn't bother to check to see if the gorilla was unconscious or dead, knowing it made very little difference for the time being.

He shouldered the rifle as he looked carefully into the jail. There was only one gorilla in his line of sight/fire, but he guessed the others were inside the cell he was turned to. None of them noticed him, but he remained ready all the same. Suddenly, a woman's voice echoed off the walls. "Where the _hell _did you take him!"

Alan's eyebrows shot up. Man, that had to be one of the survivors. No human of this time would dare give that type of cheek to an ape... "If you do not quiet down, I am going to _remove_ your tongue!" the supervising ape growled threateningly. His patience was clearly wearing very thin.

"_Fuck_ you!" She certainly had a knack for knowing the _wrong_ thing to say at any given time...

Alan found the trigger on the gun, fully expecting the gorilla to carry out his threat. But he seemed less interested in her than the work that was being performed in the cell. "Take that out back and burn it immediately, then report back."

Burn it. That was their solution to unknown diseases. It wasn't a _bad_ idea, but it was a dead giveaway as to what had happened to the injured human. In short, they didn't _know _what was wrong with him. The two gorillas shuffled across the jail with the straw mat in tow between them, all too eager to rid themselves of the unknown germs, and Alan sucked his breath in as he turned to shield himself from their sight. They passed through the room to the back door of the jail building, safely avoiding the unconscious/dead gorilla out front.

"Don't move."

There was nothing - not even the shuffling sound of footsteps - to warn the gorilla of the impending threat. All of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, a barked order and a gun pointed in his direction. He froze, and his eyes widened as he realized that it was a _human _holding the gun.

"Hey! Alan! Over here!" Pete's hand was waving out the bars of one of the cell doors.

"Put down the gun, and unlock the door," Alan gestured with the gun. The guard hesitated, glancing first at the door and then at the gun. "Now!"

"What the hell is going on out there!", That girl's voice again. She was in the cell beside Pete, second from the door.

The guard's eyes were locked on Alan, and he moved very slowly, setting the gun on the floor and backing up toward the cell. "How much do you know?" Pete asked, his hands disappearing from the window as the door slowly opened.

"Not much," Alan admitted, gesturing toward the cell beside Pete's, "Now the girl." He made sure that the gun stayed trained on the guard at all times.

"The girl?", The challenge in her tone was unmistakable. "Oh no, the girl is staying _right _here."

Pete walked out of the cell, eyes darting around. "Who was that guy they drug out of here?" Alan asked.

"No idea," he answered, shaking his head. "I didn't get a chance to talk to him at all." He nodded to the cell where the girl was being held as the guard swung open the door.

"Now step back," Alan ordered.

The gorilla complied, but she made no effort to come out of the cell. "I have found out that Miss Overexcited in here is a civilian," Pete mumbled, taking a few steps toward the door upon realizing she wasn't going to come out on her own. "But we'll talk about that later..."

Alan didn't flinch. Jonesy had been civilian, too. But Alan had to admit that he'd been hoping for someone with military training. It would just make everything so much easier...

Pete pushed past, careful to stay out of Alan's line of fire, and to move as quickly as possible. He went into the cell, and blinked at the girl. She was standing in a far corner, arms firmly crossed over her chest. But it was her clothes more than her stance that struck him. She was in a thin-strapped top, shorts that barely covered her hips, and boots that came almost to her knees. "Now _that _is not federally regulated dress code..." He wasn't talking to her, or Alan for that matter, _half_ as much as he was talking to himself. He had _not _expected this.

"I'm warning you..." she threatened. "Don't even _think _about touching me."

He took a few steps toward her, grabbed her upper arm, and pulled hard. "Come on, time to go." His voice was casual, but it wasn't a request.

She struggled, just as he'd expected. He didn't let go, as she _should_ have expected if she had any brain. "Let _go _of me!"

Pete didn't let go, literally _dragging_ her to the door of the cell.

"Let go or I'll _scream_!"

"Scream and you'll die."

"Pete, we don't have much time. Just grab the-", He was interrupted by her screaming. He had to admit that it startled him. So much that he nearly took the gun off its target. He braced, setting his jaw as Pete dragged a kicking, screaming girl out of the cell. Alan didn't allow himself time to get a good look at her before his eyes returned to the gorilla.

"Toss the keys over here and get in the cell," he ordered. "Pete!" He bent and picked up the guard's pistol from off the floor and tossed it to his friend. Pete caught it with his free hand, echoes of gun safety lessons ringing in his head... "Go!"

He briefly considered shooting the girl, but figured Alan probably wouldn't like that. Instead, he shoved her headlong into the wall by the door, grabbing up her wrist before she regained her balance. It was easier than trying to hold her arm and run. "Help!" She was still screaming like a maniac. "Somebody help me!"

The guard was stalling. Alan cocked the gun, "Now!"

He stepped back into the cage and Alan slammed the door shut before taking off at a sprint out into the outer room where Pete was waiting. "Where's Galen!" The girl's screaming nearly drowned out the sound of his voice.

"Hopefully he's getting the hell out of here! Come on!"

Pete didn't have time to ask questions. The girl was still screaming, and as they struggled to pull her out of the front door, they could see the missing guards bounding down the street toward them. With a rough jerk, Pete pulled her in front of him, clapped one hand over her mouth, and shoved the pistol _hard_ into the small of her back. "_Shut_ your _mouth_!" he snarled.

She shut up. She wasn't so stupid after all...

Pete looked to Alan. His ears were still ringing, and he was well aware of the fact that all hell was going to come down on them in about ten seconds. "I'll find Galen. You two get out of here."

"I thought Galen was supposed to be _with _you!"

"He followed the human they took out of here because we didn't know if it was _you_!"

"The hospital then!", Pete answered, already backing away. "Try the hospital! I'll come back once I've... tied her to a tree or something."

He shoved the girl forward, hearing the shouts and gunshot behind him as the gorillas closed in. "Come on!" he yelled at the girl, grabbing her wrist again. It was too hard to run with her standing in front of him. But he kept his grip on the gun just in case. "Now!"

He took off at a sprint, picking her clear up off her feet a few times as she nearly stumbled.

Galen was crouched in the shadows. It was relatively safe there. He had considered walking through the front door of the medical center, and bluffing his way into some information... but Alan's warning not to be seen rang in his ears. The fact that his other "servant" was busy breaking humans out of jail was also heavy on his mind. If he was caught in the midst of all _that_, and wandering around the city in a time when he should be innocently asleep at the prefect's house in addition, he was going to be in very big trouble indeed.

"Galen!"

Galen cried out softly as he spun toward the harsh whisper, and nearly knocked Alan off his feet in the process. His eyes slid closed, and he breathed a _huge_ sigh of relief as he realized there was no threat. "Alan, do not _do _that!" he hissed back.

"Sorry."

Galen regained his focus quickly. "Is Pete all right? And the survivors? I heard the gunshots..."

Alan shook his head, dismissing the concern, "Pete's fine and the one survivor who was still in the jail."

Galen nodded, and glanced back to the window just briefly. "Well, there are two humans here," he explained quietly. "Both seem to be seriously injured. They seem to think it's a plague of sorts..."

Alan shook his head. Generally speaking, the apes labeled everything they couldn't understand as a plague. "Are they alive?"

Galen sighed. "I don't really know," he admitted. "I can't _see _them." Alan peered briefly in through the window and realized that it was indeed only the outer office of the building. And there were no other windows on this wall. "But I _could_ go inside and inquire..."

Alan shook his head. "No," he said firmly. "There's no time, and I don't want you standing in the middle of an audience when the guards come looking for your escaped humans..."

Galen glanced up and down the street. "Perhaps I could distract them, without being seen at all..." He paused for a moment on that thought, but then shook his head. "Oh, but I'm not certain we should bother. If they are as critically injured as they sound, we surely can't take them out of the hospital to _run_..."

"Mmm," Alan's eyes narrowed as he looked in through the window again at the gorilla and the chimpanzee doctor who were speaking in hushed tones. "All right," he agreed. "But make sure you stay out of sight and don't go far. I don't intend to be in there any longer than I absolutely have to."

Galen nodded in agreement. He didn't think it would be terribly difficult at _all _to distract them. Not with the commotion already in the streets as the gorillas searched for the escaped humans. He checked both ways down the street before running out and across the street. "Help!" he cried. "Oh, _help_! _Humans_!"

"What the hell is he _doing_!", Pete's voice, out of nowhere, made Alan jump. He glanced behind him as Pete crouched, out of breath. Sweat was beaded on his forehead.

"Distracting them... I think." He glanced back at the place where Galen had stood as the door to the hospital opened, and both the gorilla and the doctor stepped out. "Where's the girl?" he asked over his shoulder.

"She ain't goin' nowhere," Pete mumbled. The gorilla bounded across the street with gun in hand, toward a second echoing cry for help. The doctor remained near the door.

"You okay?"

Pete nodded, and wiped his forehead. "They ain't gonna be distracted for very long. The whole _city's_ wakin' up..." He looked to the door, and the female doctor who was still standing there, looking into the darkness where the gorilla had vanished.

"Still got that gun?"

Pete checked his makeshift belt and withdrew the pistol, handing it to Alan. "Right behind you," he assured.

Alan took off, toward the door. He was on the doctor before she had a chance to realize she was under attack, and he dragged her through the already-open door. "Don't scream," he ordered, pushing her back against the wall with the gun pointed in her direction. She stared in wide-eyed fear and horror, but she didn't scream.

Pete was already through the doors of the closed off room. It didn't take him very long to find what he was looking for. Within ten seconds, he'd confirmed that one of the humans had a pulse, and the other didn't. But it was the one who was still breathing that posed the problem. "Alan..." he called loudly.

"What'd you find?"

Pete glanced toward the door, but realized that Alan wasn't coming. "I think you'd better come'n look at this..."

Alan glanced back and forth from the door to the doctor, keeping the gun trained at her chest. "In there," he gestured, urging her toward the other room.

She moved quickly and obediently, and he lowered the gun as he realized she was shaking like a leaf. She wasn't going anywhere; she was scared to death of him. Inside the room, Alan glanced around. He saw the human that he'd mistaken for Pete, but walked toward Pete instead.

The human lying near him was still dressed in the clothes he had arrived in, and they, unlike the girl's _and _the other male human's clothing, looked to be government issued. They weren't NASA, but perhaps something close to it. Alan didn't immediately recognize the seal. On the pocket of his shirt, there was a very simple badge: Richard Naiton - Pilot.

Alan's stomach tied into a knot, almost instantly. "No..."

"He's alive..." Pete mumbled, checking his pulse again just to be sure. "But he's definitely comatose. And if we try'n drag him outta here, with or without his IV, we might kill him _and _ourselves in the process..."

Alan's eyes ran over the primitive equipment he was attached to and he took in a deep breath. _Make the call, Virdon... You've only got a few seconds..._ He turned to the doctor, who was huddled in a corner of the room. "Has he been awake at _all_?"

She shook her head vigorously and he looked back to Pete. "We've gotta leave him," Alan concluded. "It could be anything: internal bleeding, severe concussion, spinal cord injury..."

"Hopefully, for his sake, he'll never wake up," Pete concluded. "Let's get the hell out of here." He'd give the guy a moment of silence later. Right now, he was more than a little worried about Galen and anxious to get as far away from this enclosed area as possible.

Alan nodded and shot one more look at the doctor as he followed Pete out of the building. He wasn't worried about her screaming. She wouldn't be the first. He was _much _more worried about finding Galen. This whole rescue attempt was _far _too risky...

Pete's eyes scanned once he was back in the safety of the shadows, between the buildings. The street was slowly flooding with apes roused out of their sleep by the cries and the gunshot. This had to be the _least_ covert operation they'd ever done. But once they found Galen, they could be out of here, and forget it ever happened. Oh yeah... except for the gagged and bound girl on the edge of the city...

"See Galen anywhere?" Alan was looking, but he didn't recognize any of the apes in the hellish crowed that surround them.

"Uh uh..."

"We are _very _much running out of time." Once again, both humans jumped in surprise at the unexpected voice. This time, it was coming from above them.

"Galen! Get down here!"

Galen had kept close to the hospital. He'd wanted to be able to see when they emerged. And the safest place to hide, he'd found, was on the rooftop. Still, he was extremely anxious. Torches were being lit, and a city-wide search was organizing. They needed to be out of here five minutes ago...

He knew his human friends would have a much harder time traveling by rooftop than he would. He'd expected to return to the ground, and did so with ease, turning to Alan for their next move. Alan looked behind them, at the alley that ran between the buildings, and he pointed. "Could it be that easy?"

"One way to find out..." Pete shrugged.

Alan took off, Pete and Galen a half step behind. Even though they weren't out of danger Alan felt a small amount of comfort in the fact that they were all together once again. There was still the girl to worry about, but the three of them, at least, were safe... Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered again where and how Pete had left her...


	6. Chapter Six: Gratitude

**CHAPTER SIX**

**GRATITUDE**

The far side of the city was relatively quiet. Pete gasped air as he fell back against the wall of the house and scanned, hands on his knees. "I think... we're near... where I left the girl."

"Girl?" the chimpanzee gasped. He was in _much _better shape now than he had been several months ago, but these mad dashes still left him out of breath.

Pete scanned both ways and, seeing no one, took off again, leading Alan and Galen both out of the city limits. Yes... apparently it _could_ be that easy. Pete found himself breathing a _huge_ sigh of relief as they headed for the tree line.

Alan was a half-step behind, and still on high alert. Behind them, he could still hear the sounds of the hunt, and it made him uneasy to know that they were still so close. It was only a matter of time before they extended their search outside of the city limits. Then, they would find them if they were still here. They needed to get as far away from the area as they could, as quickly as possible.

Alan slowed as he heard the muffled yelling of what appeared to be a moving bush, and his eyes followed Pete as he knelt down. "Miss me?" he asked.

A loud, but very muffled growl answered him, and he chuckled as he untied the furious girl, ankles first. As soon as her hands were freed, she reached for the gag. "How _dare_...!" Pete's hand over her mouth cut her off, and he guided the cloth back in place, _holding _it. He didn't want her screaming again. She struggled, trying to pry his hand away, but it did her absolutely no good.

Once he found his balance, he stood, pulling her up with him. "Up we go."

She squealed, but couldn't make enough noise to be a threat to them. "Once we get outta here, you can scream all you want," Pete comforted. "Until then, yer gonna be a _good _girl and stay nice and quiet..."

She yelled through the gag again - something that sounded remarkably like another obscenity - and Pete ignored her. An amused look played on Alan's face as he studied the two of them. It looked like Pete had finally met his match; she was as stubborn as he was. Boy, this was going to be one hell of a time...

"Pete! Alan!" Galen whispered. "Look!"

All four of them turned to look back toward the city, where a few wobbly torch lights could be see coming towards them. The girl tried to scream again, and struggled to get free, but Pete held her tight. "Let's get out of here," Alan ordered.

"Yeah, I'm all for that," Pete answered, already dragging the girl away in spite of her struggling.

She stopped struggling after the first mile. By that time, she'd exhausted herself. It was hard to run and fight at the same time. As much as she hated it, she was resigned to being their bound and gagged prisoner. At least until she had a chance of escape...

"We should rest here for a little bit," suggested Alan.

"Sounds like a winner to me." Pete let her go and collapsed in a heap on the grass. He was as tired from pulling her along as she was from struggling.

Immediately, she tore the gag away from her mouth and threw it at him. He didn't even look up. Anger _seethed _inside of her, and she considered making a break for it. But she immediately realized that the two other sets of eyes were watching her. She growled, and then leaned on a tree beside her, arms crossed firmly over her chest as she pouted.

Pete pulled his knees up, resting his forehead on them and taking a few deep breaths. Galen sat down beside him, reaching for his canteen and taking a long drink before offering it to Pete. Pete shook his head, and Galen offered to the female. She only scowled, and after a moment, he put the canteen back.

"You're not going to get away with this," she stated. "When they come for me, I'll tell them where you are."

"Say, Alan..." Pete looked up, eyes flickering anger. "Why in the _hell_ are we draggin' her ass around with us when she _wants_ to die?"

Alan didn't answer, only shook his head and turned to look the other way, scanning the direction they'd come.

"No, I _mean _it, Alan..." Pete continued. "I mean, we've done some pretty stupid things in the name of human kindness but this has to be the stupidest thing _yet_. Right up there with turning around and walking back into a plague-stricken village..."

"She had to get here somehow, Pete," Alan answered.

Pete knew exactly what he was implying. And yes, it was a valid point. But at the same time, there was _also _the valid point that she apparently had no intention of _taking _them to her ship. "Look, Alan, a hell of a lot of good it's gonna do us if she starts screamin' for help when Urko shows up..."

Galen blinked. "What human in their right mind would do a thing like _that_?"

Pete shot him a look, and he decided he did not _really_ want an answer to that question. "Alan, she isn't even the pilot; he died back there. And there's no guarantee we're qualified to fly that ship outta here..."

"Qualified or not, it's our only chance."

"Yeah, and where does she fit into your perfect plan?" Pete mocked. "She's gonna get us _killed _before we ever...!"

"Pete!" Burke fell instantly silent, eyes widening just slightly at the sudden burst of uncharacteristic frustration. "Lay off, will you?"

Uneasy silence fell on them. For a long moment, Pete glared. But Alan returned it, and it was Pete who looked away first. He stared down at the ground, picking at the blades of grass in the long, lingering silence that none of them dared to break.

He knew Alan's frustration and anger wasn't directed solely at him. It was at the entire situation. Pete was feeling the _same _frustration, and he knew they were each other's only safe outlet. Still, to see Alan blow off steam - even such a small amount - seemed wrong, somehow. In the years he'd known him, he'd only seen Alan mad twice. Even finding that he was stranded on a planet of talking apes hadn't angered him. At least, not that he'd shown outwardly.

Alan was the one who was level-headed, and in a way, Pete hated it. It made it _impossible _to argue with him. When he said something, then that was the way it was. Calmly, very much collected, he made a decision to do something. And no amount of anger, frustration, begging, or pleading would make him change his mind.

Galen was the one to finally break the silence. "Are we... still heading east?" His voice was quiet and meek. He wasn't certain how to deal with Alan being angry, either.

"I don't know," Alan mumbled, leaning against a tree and holding his forehead in his palm. "Did the prefect say where the ship was? At all?"

"No."

Silence again. Pete's eyes narrowed as he studied the ground until he found himself glaring. That girl standing just a few feet away knew _exactly_ where that damned ship was, and he _knew _it. "We'll have to get more water soon," Galen observed.

"Yeah, well, why don't you take a trip back to Kotar with Blondie here," Pete gestured. He was still bitter about the fact that she had called down all hell upon them while they were trying to _rescue _her. He was even _more _bitter about the fact that she still seemed determined to cause problems.

"I _resent_ that," she spoke up defensively. Pete half-laughed, mockingly, and her eyes narrowed into slits. "I am _not _a dumb blonde."

He glanced up. "Yer right," he mumbled. "Your roots are showing."

Her jaw dropped at the _audacity_ of the man who would point that out. "_Excuse_ me?"

Galen's expression was clearly troubled. "Not blonde?" He took a quick look at her hair and decided that they both had to be crazy or color blind. Since he knew Pete was not insane, he opted for the latter, although it confused him. He'd heard about color blind humans, but he'd not known his friend to be one of them. Her hair was clearly blonde.

"Hope you weren't too attached to it," Pete shot at her. "You ain't gonna find peroxide around here..."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, for the love of..."

The chimpanzee shot a questioning look at Pete. "Peroxide?"

"Used to bleach hair," Pete answered. "Give it a few months and her hair's gonna be a dark brown."

Galen stared. How could someone change the color of their hair? An even better question would be why would someone _want _to? You shouldn't want to change something you were born with...

"So where am I?" the girl was becoming bolder now. "You don't actually expect me to believe that the _apes _rule this place do you?" Her tone was slightly condescending.

"No, it's ruled by kangaroos." Pete had had _more _then enough of her whining and complaining.

"Kangaroos?", Galen asked.

He was ignored. "Look, Buffy, you were a prisoner back there at the mercy of the apes and yer still gonna ask who the ruling species on this planet is?" Pete shot at the girl.

"My name's _not _Buffy," she glared.

"Yeah, well, I can think of a few other names to fill in the blank if you prefer..."

"You're a bastard, you know that?"

Pete's eyes narrowed into slits. "Shall we discuss what you are?"

"Oh _will _you two stop," Galen cut in. "Now, calling each other names is not going to get us _anywhere_..."

The girl turned to him and glared, then uncrossed her arms as she bent down and picked up a stick about a foot long. "You want the stick?" she asked, mockingly excited. "Huh? You want it?"

"Hey!" Pete wasn't sure why, but hearing her taunt Galen made him a _thousand _times more pissed off than taking her insults on himself.

Galen watched as she threw the stick into the bushes. "Fetch!" His jaw dropped. Clearly, she did not expect him to run after the stick. But it was perfectly clear what she was insinuating.

In an instant, Pete was on her, and her back was against the trunk of the tree. "You listen here, little girl and you listen good..."

"Get _off_ me!" she struggled.

Galen stared, dumbfounded and angry. How dare she! She might not be from this time, but neither were Alan and Pete, and at least they had _manners_. It was no secret that they had lived in a time when apes had been subservient to humans; they had never lied about that or tried to cover it up. But they had never been so bold as to insultingly treat him as a _dog_! He looked for Alan, but saw that he had removed himself from the group. He was only a short distance away, but far enough that he was likely out of earshot for the tone Pete was using.

"You ever talk that way to him again," Pete growled, "and I'll make _personally_ sure you get to experience being led on a leash. You understand me?"

"You harm one hair on my head and I'll have you arrested once my father..."

"Oh get _off _it!" Pete yelled at her, pushing her aside and letting her go. "You're a million light years from your Earth and you _ain't_ goin' back without our help!"

"I'm warning you..." she continued, ignoring him.

"Yeah, and I'm warning you!" he yelled back. "If I wanted you dead all I woulda had to do is leave you in that goddamned jail!"

"So why _didn't _you!"

"Because my friend had this bright idea to _save _yer ass!" he shot.

"Yeah? Well don't do me any more favors!"

"Oh, will you _please_ stop?" Galen pleaded. His attention was much more focused on Alan than it was on the two bickering humans. Pete followed his gaze and did a double take as he saw him sitting on the edge of a large rock formation overlooking the area.

"You," Galen pointed to the girl, "are by far the most _obnoxious_ human I have ever had the _dis_pleasure of meeting."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever..." She completely tuned him out and started inspecting her nails, checking to make sure that none of them had chipped.

Pete glared at her for a long moment, and then looked back to Alan. The fact that he had separated himself from the group wasn't like him. He sighed as he shrugged his shoulders out of the backpack. "Be right back," he mumbled to Galen. The chimpanzee whimpered and nodded, and Pete turned and pointed at the girl. "If you move, I swear to god I'll shoot your ass."

She glared back, but he had already turned away, walking the short distance to where Alan was sitting. He was on the edge of the rocks, one knee bent and his arm resting across it as he stared blankly into the trees in front of him. "Hey, you okay?"

Alan stared, and remained perfectly still for a long moment before sighing and dropping both legs off the rock in front of him. His nod was slight, just barely visible. "I need to get out of here, Pete," he said quietly. "I..."

He didn't finish. His mind was clearly elsewhere. Pete continued to study him for a long moment. He needed space, and Pete understood that. But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a wave of concern. It wasn't like Alan to pull away...

"Ah, it can't be that bad," Pete tried to encourage him. "Just think of the advantages we have living here: no taxes, no mortgage, no car payments..." It was lame, but it was the first thing that came to mind. Pete knew it didn't compare. Until Alan was back home with his wife and his son, he couldn't look at any advantages. Pete understood that. He might not have had anything to really go home to himself... but there was still a binding and constricting feeling that came with the thought of being hunted forever.

Alan licked his lips, but otherwise remained completely still for a long, lingering moment. "I don't care if I die in the process, Pete," he finally stated, quiet but firm. "But I _have_ to find that ship. And I have to at least _try _to get it off this planet, with or without her help..."

Pete straightened a bit at the unfamiliar tone. It was something he hadn't heard from Alan before. Not anger, not frustration, not sadness... maybe a mix of all three. In a word, it was a feeling of betrayal, and it tainted his words, raising a red flag.

She didn't know. Pete _knew _she didn't know what she was dealing with. What human in their right mind would _want_ to walk up to Urko and demand to be taken to the High Council? But he knew she would. She was just naive, as he had been when he first arrived. _No... you were never _that_ naive..._ But still, she had an excuse, sort of.

But being here had taught him the meaning of codependence like no training exercise ever had. He _needed_ Alan, _and_ Galen, like he needed air and water. And Alan, hell-bent on getting home, _needed_ that girl. He needed her help. But she was stupidly refusing to be part of the group. Independent bitch... who was going to get herself killed in one quick hurry. If they could only be so lucky...

"Look..." Pete rubbed his hands together, glaring at the ground. "If I have to hog-tie that blonde bimbo and _drag _her through the mountains we _will _find that ship. We've been through a lot together, this should be a piece of cake."

"And what about when we find it, Pete?" He looked up, and met Pete's eyes, his own reflecting pain and loss. "What about when we...?" He cut off, and looked away, shaking his head.

Pete frowned. "One day at a time, huh?" he offered. He was just as aware as Alan was of the possibility that the ship alone would do them no good whatsoever if they couldn't get it off the ground. But he couldn't let "what if" dictate his feelings and fears. "Right now we gotta worry about what the girl is doing to poor Galen and what we're gonna do about her."

Pete made sure that he didn't look directly at Alan. He knew full well that his friend would be able to tell that he was just as hopeful... even if he couldn't quite bring himself to admit it. And in addition... it hurt him to see the pain that reflected off of Alan's eyes.

"She's one of us, Pete..." Alan said quietly, after a long pause. "We _can't _let them have her. Even if she won't help us."

Pete's eyes narrowed as he stared at a random tree in the ravine. He felt no connection whatsoever to the girl. Hell, he couldn't even remember what she'd said her name was. For all he cared, she could drop off a cliff. But Alan cared, and whether he liked it or not, that made a difference to him. "No, we won't let Urko get his hands on her," Pete assured. "Or on that ship, either."

"You sound pretty optimistic for a guy who just threatened to shoot her..."

Pete straightened a bit. Alan's monotone, almost cynical voice made him pause. "Hey, I can kill and torture her," Pete tried to recover. "But no overgrown gorilla is gonna lay a hand on her..." He was trying too hard and he knew that Alan knew it. _Damn it..._

Alan sighed, and looked away. So many times, they had come close. It was almost hard to believe that this time, just maybe, they might be closer than they ever were before. But he _had_ to believe it. It was all there was worth believing in. He glanced over his shoulder at the girl. "I don't really know what to do with her... She _will _run..." He looked to Pete, his eyes sad. "But she's one of us. And I just... I _can't _let it happen, Pete. Even if she won't _help _us, I can't let them kill her..."

Pete sat down next to his friend and was silent for a moment. There was no easy way to take that, or to figure out what he should be saying in response. He knew that when he really got to the heart of it... he couldn't hand her over any more than Alan could. She was just... naive and stupid. But that didn't make the problem any easier to solve. "Alan..."

He sighed. This was the one and only person in the current universe who understood all he had to say before he said it. He didn't _have _to say it. It was amazing just how often they thought the same thing at the same time. Same training, perhaps... but it was more than that, too. And even though they didn't necessarily _agree_ on their perceptions... they still made them in the same way. "... I really don't know what to tell you," he finally continued. "All we can do right now is keep her on a short leash and get to the ship. Maybe then we can find some answers."

Alan nodded, and sighed deeply. "I know. I know that..." The frustration in his voice was evident, in spite of the fact that he was obviously trying to mask it. He looked back at the girl again, and then at Pete. "Just... do me a favor?"

Pete glanced to him, and raised a brow. "Yeah? What?"

Alan gave a slight smile, an attempt at encouraging himself. "Don't go out of your way to push her buttons... "

Pete rolled his eyes and looked away. "Hey, who's pushing _whose_ buttons?"

"She doesn't know what she's dealing with here and you know it," Alan pointed out. "You were there too not all that long ago. And she..." He glanced again at her. "She doesn't realize just how alone she _is_..."

Pete sighed, and hung his head slightly. He knew Alan was right. At least when he had arrived on this screwed up planet, he hadn't been completely alone. Hell, without Alan around Pete didn't want to think of what he might have done. He wouldn't be alive this long, that was for _damn _sure. This girl had absolutely no one at all... and she didn't even realize it. "Yeah, okay, I'll try. But _no _promises." He glared briefly at the girl. "She does enough button pushing of her own."

Alan nodded. "Yeah, I know." A slightly cynical edge crept into his voice. "I'm well aware of the fact that she almost got us killed back there..."

"But of course I have absolutely no hard feelings against her," Pete assured. A slight smirk came through the blatant sarcasm.

"Right," Alan answered.

"How far do you think we've come from the city?" Pete was more than ready to change the subject, if only to get Alan's mind on something else.

Alan's eyes turned outward again, to the surrounding area. "I don't know. A few miles maybe." He shook his head. "Not far _enough_..."

"Right." Pete pulled himself up. "Well, let's get outta here before the welcome wagon catches up, huh?"

Alan looked at him, and hesitated a moment. "Maybe by the morning the girl will have forgotten all about her crazy idea about going to the High Council..." Pete added, glancing at her and Galen. He frowned. "Or maybe not..."

Pete looked back down, and offered Alan a hand. With a sigh, Alan took it, and Pete pulled him to his feet.


	7. Chapter Seven: Promise Kept

C**HAPTER SEVEN**

**PROMISE KEPT**

"So what's your name?"

The girl scowled at the dying flames of the miniature campfire, ignoring the question entirely. Pete glanced briefly at her, then back at the fruit he was slowly dissecting. "It's Bridget or Brittany or something like that," he mumbled.

"It's _Christine_!" she shot angrily.

"Ah, so you _aren't _deaf," Pete replied offhandedly.

She pulled her knees tighter to her chest. "Fuck you."

Galen studied her curiously, curious as to how such a simple question as the one Alan had posed led to anger like this. But then, really, she'd been angry from the moment he'd met her. So much so that on occasion, she'd followed them only when she was being dragged screaming through the overgrowth. She had finally given up on that, but there seemed to be no indication that she was any more cooperative, only that she was tired of being pulled along by her arm.

"You know... I don't understand why you are so determined to work _against _us," he observed. She didn't look at him. "I mean, we very likely saved your _life _back there..."

"Yeah, and it very nearly _cost _us _ours_!" Pete added.

"I never asked for your help," she shot back.

"But... they would have _killed _you!" Galen reminded, dumbfounded.

"Well, it wouldn't be any worse than wandering around in the fucking wilderness with two crazy guys and an overgrown monkey!"

Pete took a breath. Alan saw him stiffen, and caught a good look at the fire that suddenly blazed to life in his eyes. They locked stared briefly, and Alan shook his head, pleading with his friend to keep calm. For a brief moment, Pete seriously considered ripping into her whether Alan liked it or not. But he decided against it, and only a low growl escaped him as he cut his eyes to the ground, glaring hard.

Christine spent a moment watching him, _daring _him to fight with her. He could feel her eyes boring into him, but forced himself to ignore it. If he could just shut up, and stay out of it, it would cause less of a war...

"Look," Alan sighed. "I don't know what gave you the impression that we were the enemy here, but we want to _help _you. Do you understand that?"

"I don't want your help," she shot back.

Pete bit his tongue. Hard. _So you _want _to stay _here _the rest of your life then?_

"Unless you take us to that ship, you have no _chance _of getting home," Alan tried to reason with her. "But if you take us there, we'll do everything we can to..."

"You're out of your fucking mind, you know that?" He sighed as she cut him off, staring at him as if she couldn't believe he was so stupid. "Look, you _abducted _me and you expect me to _help _you?"

"We didn't _abduct _you!" Galen corrected, shaking his head. "We _rescued _you! There's a difference!"

She laughed. "What the _hell _made you think I wanted to be 'rescued' by fugitives!"

Pete couldn't stand it. "Uh... because they would have killed you?" Sarcasm rang in his voice.

"Well, you were _wrong_," she shot. "So if you don't mind, I'd appreciate it if you would take me back now."

Pete stared down at the fruit that was making his hands sticky. "Careful," he warned, eerily calm as he studied the food. "I'm not entirely opposed to the idea of leaving you right here."

She opened her mouth, but realized she had no answer for that. A tiny flicker of fear sparked in her at the thought of being left in the middle of the wilderness alone. There was no guarantee that she would be found if they took off, and girl scouts had never been her thing...

"Why do you think we're fugitives?" Galen asked, unable to sit still. He was frustrated with this human that he could not understand. He had never seen one so... difficult!

"You fucking _said _as much," she shot.

Alan and Galen both looked to Pete, but he didn't raise his eyes. Instead, he shrugged, and continued picking at the remains of the fruit. After a moment, Galen looked back to the girl. "Do you know _why _we are fugitives?" he asked.

"Do I _care_?" she mocked.

He ignored her sarcasm, trying to make his point. "We're fugitives because we refuse to believe what Zaius and the High Council want us to believe. We know that apes and men should be equal." He nodded, clearly pleased that he could say that now with no reservation.

She only glared at him. "Bull fucking shit."

"I beg your pardon?" For two out of those three words, he had no definition. Though it seemed that one of them was a significant part of her vocabulary.

Alan sighed, and shook his head. "Ignore the language Galen. She's just in a foul mood."

"Foul mood?" she challenged. Pete glanced up with a hooded look as her control teetered on the edge. He could hear it in her voice. "Foul mood!" Then, suddenly, it was gone. "I've been abducted by a talking animal and two psychos who haven't...!"

"Hey!" Pete cut her off, feeling his own anger rise. His resolve to stay quiet was forgotten in an instant.

She was on her feet, hands on her hips, almost immediately. "Hey what!" she shot at him.

He stood and took a step closer, pointing a finger at her. "I warned you once," he growled. "And I won't do it again. Push me too far and you will be tied up to that tree over there until and unless Urko finds you."

She glared back, but didn't answer. Somehow, instinctively, she knew he was serious.

"Watch your fucking mouth," Pete ordered. "This is the last warning you get."

Alan watched closely, but didn't get involved, his own anger seething as instinct threatened his calm. A part of him very much identified with Pete's words; he couldn't have said it better himself. He would not stand for that kind of treatment of his friend.

Christine backed down - it was clear that Pete had no intention to - and Alan shot a quick look to Galen. He was wide-eyed, probably a bit stunned. As Alan thought about it, he didn't recall seeing Pete truly angry in Galen's presence before. At least, not angry enough to threaten. Frustrated, yes. But not angry.

"Look, you would have died there," Alan stated, staring at the girl as she took refuge against the trunk of a nearby tree. "You can think what you like, but that's the truth."

"Fuck you," she shot back, offhandedly.

Galen glanced back and forth between all three of them, watching Pete as he settled back down and Alan as he shook his head. And then there was her. Christine. With that same root word again. Sooner or later, when she wasn't around, he was going to have to ask one of them what that word meant.

He sighed as he realized that the conversation came to a standstill. He was tired of the bickering, tired of her attitude, tired of wandering around aimlessly. His eyes lingered on the small fire as he reached for a stick and scratched the dirt ground with it. "How much further do you think that ship is?" he mumbled, not really asking any particular person.

Alan didn't have an answer to that. He glanced to Christine, and saw her glare turn into a sadistic smirk. He considered his words carefully before speaking. "Who knows. Without help, we could wander around in the wilderness around here for the next few months until we find it." Christine's smirk turned to a frown.

"Sleeping on the ground..." Pete picked up, knowing where his friend was headed. "Hiking five to ten miles a day until we cover every inch of the land within a hundred mile radius..."

"You won't last that long," Christine concluded.

"Wanna bet?" Pete answered simply.

"Sooner or later, I'll make sure I'm found and rescued. And then I'll tell them where you are."

Pete rolled his eyes, but didn't answer. But Galen couldn't keep quiet. "Now what would that profit you?"

She glared at him. "A little something called revenge," she shot.

He shook his head, dumbfounded by her stubbornness. "Well, I hope you enjoy your revenge as you live out the rest of your days in an ape prison," he stated.

"Which might not be that long," Pete mumbled under his breath. He glanced up just briefly, and gestured to her. "With your mouth, you probably wouldn't live long enough to see the High Council."

She rolled her eyes. "You know... I am so sick of hearing you talk." She glared at Pete. "Do you ever shut up?"

He looked up again, and gave her a sadistic smile, but didn't dignify her sarcasm with an answer.

"Why do you refuse to help us?" Galen asked. He was confused, but it was a different sort of confusion than what he felt when his two human friends would purposely mention some gadget of the past. This was a very foreign, mean-hearted type of cruelty that he did not understand. "We have risked, and are still risking, our lives to save yours."

"I never asked you for that," she reminded.

"But we only want to help you get back to wherever you came from!"

She rolled her eyes. "You know, somehow, I think I'll have a better chance with the governing authority than I will with you freaks..."

"And what happens when they decide that they don't need you and then turn you over to Urko to be killed?" Galen wasn't going to back down this time.

But still, she was not taking him seriously. "What proof do I have that anything you criminals tell me is actually true!"

"What proof do you have that we are telling a lie?"

"None," she clipped. "But I'd rather trust my life to what makes sense."

"Oh, come off it!" Pete laughed. "Look around you, babe, none of this makes sense and you know it!"

"What if what is right doesn't make sense?" Galen challenged, ignoring Pete. "Sometimes you just have to trust your heart and not your head."

She chuckled, without humor. "I'll tell you what my heart is saying... It's warning me to get the hell away from you people!"

"I think your fighting a losing battle, Galen," Alan sighed. He glanced to Christine. "But you do realize that we will eventually find that ship, with or without your help. It would only make things easier if you would cooperate."

"Easier for you," she corrected.

"You're along for the ride, like it or not," he pointed out. "And like I said, we will find it."

She shrugged, pulling her eyes back to the ground. "So? It's not like you can do anything with it." She looked up just enough to glare at them. "There are people who go through years of training to learn how to fly it. Now, I know that's something you can't fathom, but they have schools. And they learn things a little more difficult than your basic arithmetic."

Alan blinked. That was it. She was now certified as the most unobservant person he had met so far. To his left, he actually heard Pete's growl. Very slowly, the indignant anger began to rise in him. She thought they were stupid. She really and truly did not see that they were different from the people - both human and ape - on this planet.

"What do you think they are!" Galen cried, flabbergasted. "Have you heard a single word we've said to you?"

Christine glared hard at the ground, and didn't answer. She didn't care what they were. "I think you're all fugitives, all clinically certifiable, and completely incapable of getting to and getting in that ship without my help. And I think I'm not the least bit interested in helping you to kidnap me!"

Alan tensed slightly as he realized her words. "What do you mean, getting into the ship?" he asked, eyeing her carefully.

She smirked sadistically. "You can't get in," she informed with a shrug. "You don't have the access codes and I'm not about to give them to you!"

Pete chuckled. "You'd much rather sit in the heat outside of the ship while we break the codes..."

She glared at him. "In your dreams, asshole."

Pete yawned loudly and stretched his arms above his head as he leaned back. "I'm tired." He glanced to Christine. "You gonna be a good girl or do we need ta tie you up so you don't run off and get yourself lost and eaten by wild animals?"

The girl blinked at the prospect of being eaten. So far, she'd not seen anything threatening enough to eat or even harm her. But the more she thought about it, she didn't particularly want to take any chances like that. She was probably safer to stay with the group, even if they were enemies.

She glared, but didn't speak, and Pete smirked slightly. "Take that as a yes," he mumbled, exchanging knowing glances with Alan.

"Better get some sleep, Christine," Alan warned. "We start bright and early tomorrow morning."

"Fuck you."

"Good night."

****

"Alan, can we please stop for a while?" Galen was tired. Alan could hear it in his voice.

With a sigh, Alan wiped his brow with the back of his hand, and looked up at the next ridge. There were too many trees where he was now to really see much of anything, and that worried him. He hadn't really had a good layout of the land in more than two days. They had the maps - and that kept them from getting horribly lost - but really... it all came down to the fact that they were wandering through the wilderness with a stubborn woman who would not tell them where they were headed.

Alan took a quick glance at her, then at Galen. He looked completely worn out. So did Pete and the girl. But Alan couldn't rest not knowing how far ahead of their pursuers they were. "Hey, Pete?"

Pete looked up as he pulled himself up the jagged path, coming closer to his friend. "Yeah?"

"Why don't you three sit down and take a little break." Alan nodded toward the half-visible passage that led further upward. "I'm gonna go see if I can get a better look at the area around here."

"Okay, sounds good." Pete shrugged his shoulders out of his knapsack. "Don't get lost, huh?" It was a needless warning, but it was also a habit.

Alan nodded as he turned away. "I'll be within shouting distance if anything happens."

The girl scowled as she watched him go, and hoped he just so happened to fall off a cliff while he was "exploring". But his departure _did_ mean they got to rest a while, and _that _was a plus... She flopped down on the grass and glared at the ground. She could feel the eyes of both the human and the ape on her, but she ignored them completely for a long moment. "Where are we _going_?" she finally demanded.

"To find the ship that you refuse to help us find." He was getting pretty good at guessing when she would ask that very same question again. By now Pete had come up with about fifteen different ways to answer. That was #7.

She looked up just long enough to glare at him, and briefly at the ape who sat down beside him. "You all are out of your fucking minds, you know that?" There was no particular evidence she offered in support of that, just a flat statement.

Pete rolled his eyes at the girl, and looked away as he reached for his canteen and took a drink. She had no idea how grateful she should be...

"What was that?"

Pete straightened at Galen's immediate alertness, and he turned to look into the bushes behind him. His eyes narrowed at the empty area, but there was nothing to suggest that there was any danger... He glanced back at Galen, who whimpered slightly. "I..." He sighed, and shook his head. "Oh, I must be imagining things."

Pete frowned, and looked back up toward the path that Alan had disappeared down. Whether it had been the wind or something more threatening... it didn't make much of a difference at this point. They couldn't be too careful, and any _possible _danger had to be taken seriously. "We can't move 'til Alan gets back," he informed quietly.

"Well, they couldn't be that close..." Galen tried to reassure. "Surely we would have more warning than..."  
"Omigod!"

Pete swiveled around just in time to see the girl break into a dead run into the brush. "Hey!"

He scrambled to his feet, running before he was even steady. "Damn it, get _back _here!" He raised a hand to shield his face from the thin branches that slapped him. He could see her figure up ahead, and hear her voice, but she had gotten a pretty good head start.

"Help! Over here!"

Suddenly, she broke free of the wooded area, and was at the edge of an open field. Pete slowed, skidding to a stop as his eyes came immediately to rest on a white horse, and a half dozen darker ones. _Oh... fuck..._

Instantly, he hit the dirt, crouching behind a large boulder as Christine bent with her hands on her knees and gasped, laughing. "Oh, thank _God_ I caught you!" she cried. "These... _men_... they _kidnapped _me!"

Pete looked to Urko, to the stunned look on the gorilla's face. _Yeah. She's not too bright, Urko._ She straightened, and brushed herself off. "I'm so glad you found us," she continued, still slightly out of breath. "I was afraid they would manage to hide from you and you would _leave _me here and I _have _to get to the High Council. The sooner I can get off of this ungodly hot planet the better. That and I'm in _serious_ need of a shower. You'd think I was some kind of..."

Finally, Urko found his voice. "What humans helped you?"

She cut off abruptly, and stared at him for a long moment. Pete clenched his jaw, frozen in place. Damn it... "Look, you'll have time to deal with them later and I'll be all for helping you catch them and send them to jail for a good long time _after _I get an audience with the High..."

"Oh, shut _up_!" Urko reached for the whip at his side. "Were the humans who helped you Virdon and Burke?"

She stared again. "Excuse me?"

She didn't know their last names. Not that it mattered a whole hell of a lot. Pete knew it was a rhetorical question. What other humans had the _balls _to break her out of jail and take off running? It was a short list.

"Burke, and Virdon," he repeated, more slowly although he was clearly losing patience.

Her patience was thinning as well. "What kind of fucked up...?"

Unfortunately for her, _he _was the one with the whip. "Answer the _question_, human!" he threatened. "Yes, or no."

"I don't fucking know what..."

"_Lies_!"

The whip cracked. Pete cringed at the sound, and she screamed as it caught her shoulder, wrapped around her back, and sent her to her knees. So began her awareness of just how insignificant she was to her "savior"...

"Virdon and Burke! Where _are _they?"

She was on her knees in the tall weeds, clutching her shoulder and all but screaming in pain. Urko growled audibly, and raised the whip again.

_"Don't do me any more favors!"_

Her voice echoed in Pete's head.

_"I need to get out of here, Pete..." _

But so did Alan's.

_"If I have to hog-tie that blonde bimbo and drag her through the mountains we will find that ship." _

And his own.

_"She's one of us, Pete... We can't let them have her. Even if she won't help us."_

_"No, we won't let Urko get his hands on her. Or on that ship, either."_

_"You sound pretty optimistic for a guy who just threatened to shoot her..." _

_"Hey, I can kill and torture her. But no overgrown gorilla is gonna lay a hand on her..." _

In an instant, a hundred snapshots came to his mind.

_"She's one of us..."_

And he reacted without thinking.

_"No promises..."_


	8. Chapter Eight: Imprisoned

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

**IMPRISONED**

Urko's eyes widened as he realized that the whip intended for the stubborn female was wrapped around the forearm of an equally stubborn, but distinctly more familiar male. Before he had a chance to react, the handle of the whip left his hand. Burke unwound it from around his wrist, and threw it aside, into the bushes. But by that time, there were already a half-dozen guns trained on him. Running was not an option.

Finally, Chief Urko found his voice. "Well, well..., Burke, what a pleasant surprise."

The human glared back at him, flicking a brief glance toward the sobbing female on the ground. "Yeah, save it, Urko," he shot. "As I recall, we didn't exactly leave each other on speaking terms..."

"Oh, but I'm _very _happy to see you..." Urko corrected. He gestured to the two of them, and two of the gorillas beside him dismounted. "Arrest them both." He looked to the others in his garrison. "And search this area thoroughly for the other two."

"They aren't here," Pete shot. He knew it was hopeless. It was also instinctive. "We got separated a few days ago."

"You lie," Urko answered. "All humans lie and you _especially_."

Pete glared at him, his voice measured and dripping ice as he answered. "Can you think of another reason we'd be so damned close to the city after four days?" he pointed out. "We had to find them before we could keep going!"

"Search the area!" Urko ordered again.

Pete clenched his jaw, but remained silent as his arms were twisted painfully behind him. He tried to move with them, to let himself be led, but it didn't really help.

"Let me go!" The girl had recovered from her shock, and was yelling again. A quick look out of the corner of his eye, and Pete saw tears streaming down her face. A thick red welt ran over her shoulder, too close for comfort to her neck. Urko could have seriously injured her if his blow had been a little further to the left. "Let me go or I'll scream!"

The guard pinned her arms back. She screamed. Pete watched silently, face set in stone as one of the guards reached back and brought his fist toward her, full-force at her stomach. She doubled over, immediately silent, and the guard behind her jerked her back up, forcing her to walk in spite of the fact that she couldn't stand upright. Pete didn't comment. Though he wouldn't have done it himself... she _seriously _deserved that...

He walked behind her, making every attempt to stay on his feet as the guard behind him shoved him forward. He was well aware of the fact that he was in _way _over his head, but there was precious little he could do about it. They would search the area, and _hopefully _they would not find Alan and Galen. At any rate, he and the girl were on their way to Central City.

A few thoughts lingered in his mind with that consideration. First, there were the memories of his last trip to Central City, and the torture he had endured. That thought made his stomach churn. Those few days had been a living _hell_... But also in his mind was the fact that at the end of that torture, he'd ultimately been handed over to Urko. Although he had been too mentally and physically unstable to be fully functional, he'd been vaguely aware of the fact that he was at Urko's mercy when he'd been taken to that medical center. At that point, it hadn't really mattered to him. After so many days, and no hope in sight, he could have cared less if he lived or died. He hadn't fought it. At least, not until he'd heard Galen's voice...

"_Now_ human!"

He glanced over his shoulder as the guard shoved the girl toward him. It was only a few moments later that she was tied beside Pete, with her wrists in front of her. The rope around her hands was attached to a larger one that ran into the hand of a gorilla on a horse. He heard her sob half-heartedly, and felt a very small twinge of sympathy for her.

She dropped to her knees, and Pete's eyes went wide. He knew full well that they wouldn't hesitate to drag her behind the horse. If she died in the process... well, that would be sad. He glanced at the gorilla holding the leash, and then briefly at Urko before reaching down, grabbing her arm, and yanking her back to her feet. It took a lot more coordination than usual since his hands were bound at the wrist. "Get up!" he hissed at her.

She sobbed, and wobbled a bit, unsteady on her feet. "Look at me!" he whispered harshly.

She looked up, eyes clouded with tears. He could read the hurt and confusion and pain written all over her face, and his sympathy grew. It was instinctive; he couldn't help it. "Look, if you fall, they will drag you," he warned her. "If Urko can find a way to make it look like an accident, he'd be more than happy to have you dead. So don't fall. Do you understand me?"

She nodded, wide, terrified eyes still blinking back tears. "Move out!" Pete looked away from her as the command was given, knowing that she was on her own now. There was absolutely nothing he could do for her if she did fall. At this point, her life was dependent upon the strength of her legs...

She didn't fall. She didn't make a sound, either. She needed all her breath to keep running. Particularly since the gorillas weren't going particularly slow. The horses weren't running, but Pete and Christine had to keep a moderate-paced jog to keep up with them.

It was amazing what the human body could do when it faced death. Suddenly, the prospect of being dragged through the wilderness on the end of a rope had become very real to her. Suddenly she realized that she was nearer to death than she had ever been before, and the awareness of just how crucial it was that she continue running gave her adrenaline-fueled strength that she'd never felt before. She was exhausted; there was no doubt about that. She had never run so far in her life, and didn't understand how she had managed this time. But as the outline of the rock-hewn buildings came into sight, her faith soared. She'd made it. Somehow... she'd made it.

She fell on her hands and knees in the cell, gasping air. Her shoulder screamed in pain from the welt of the whip. Her side was sending shooting pain through her entire body. Her lungs hurt. Her legs hurt. Cramps were setting in, and she didn't think she could walk another step. Even her arms gave out, and she fell face-down on the floor of the cell, gasping. She heard another door slam. Her eyes slid closed. So tired...

Silence descended. She was left only with the sound of her breathing, and the distant clanking of the keys. The guards were talking. She couldn't understand what they were saying. She didn't really care. She felt herself slipping away, into darkness...

"Christine?"

Her eyes snapped open. It was dark. How long had she slept? She pushed herself up, and cringed at the immediate pain. Very slowly, she turned, and sat up slowly, gingerly touching the painful area on her shoulder. "Ow..."

"You okay?"

She blinked into the darkness, trying to bring her eyes into focus. But it was too dark to see even shadows. "I... I think so..." Her muscles still hurt, and she didn't think she could move very much. She didn't try.

A hand on her unhurt shoulder nearly made her scream in surprise. She whirled, and nearly fell over backwards. "Omigod!"

"You sure?"

Pete. She knew the voice now. She scrambled back, and cringed in pain as her back hit the wall. "No, I'm not okay!" Suddenly, the prospect of being locked in a dark cell, alone with a strange man, was all too frightening.

Pete pulled his hand back and sighed, dropping it into his lap again and leaning against the wall across from her, looking once again out the window. If she was going to snap at him, he wasn't going to even try. Why was he even here if she was still going to be so damned stupid...?

There was a long silence, only the sound of the guards outside and her whimpering and quiet cursing as she checked herself over for wounds. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, but didn't turn his head. There wasn't much to see in the darkness anyways.

Finally she settled, pulling her knees up to her chest, and hunching over. Her quiet sniffling warned him that she was probably crying. "Am I going to die here?" she finally asked. Her voice was quiet, and cracked. She was definitely crying. But somehow, he couldn't bring himself to feel a hell of a lot of sympathy.

"Probably," he answered coolly, keeping his eyes on the dark window.

"Thanks for the reassurance!"

"You're welcome."

He didn't know that she'd die here. Actually, she probably wouldn't die here. She'd get the privilege of meeting Zaius and the High Council first. Himself, on the other hand...

It was only a matter of time before Urko realized that there was technically no reason he had to keep him alive. Any unfortunate "accident" - like a bullet to the head, for instance - would be perfectly excusable. Pete had already been examined, and found hopeless. Zaius had had his fun. Now it was up to Urko what happened to Peter J. Burke.

"What are you doing here, anyways?"

The sound of her voice snapped him out of his trance, and he glanced at her. "That's a very good question, now that you mention it..." He glanced down at his hands, then back up at the sky. "I guess the answer would be that my friend's got a do-or-die mission to get home and-" he half-laughed, cynically "-yer the only one who he thinks can get him home. So I'm here 'cause I promised him I'd take care of you."

"Thanks for your concern," she shot back, her voice cryptic, "but I'll be just fine."

Pete laughed, just slightly, and shook his head. "You know..." He didn't finish. At least, he didn't finish out loud. Inside, he couldn't help but wonder what the hell Alan hoped to gain from this girl... when she seemed to be seriously lacking in the intelligence department.

He listened as she cried, softly, head on her knees. "I just want to go home," she whimpered. "It wasn't supposed to be like this..."

"Yeah, well, join the club, Blondie." Pete's voice was cold. It was incredibly hard to be sympathetic when he was getting a total lack of appreciation for the fact that he'd put his very life on the line for her.

"What's the supposed to mean?" she asked quietly. For once, she wasn't demanding. Her voice was small and meek, quivering. Still, it did nothing for him.

"We crash landed here just like you did, remember?" he answered emotionlessly. "And that, I might add, is the reason why we're fugitives and why I'll probably be facing a firing squad in the morning. 'Cause Urko was out here looking for you. I'm just an added bonus."

He let that thought go as he felt her eyes on him. He could go on, but it was pointless. If she didn't get the idea by now, she wasn't going to get it. But from the lingering, stunned silence, apparently she had gotten the picture. "Oh... I hadn't realized... I..."

Pete dropped his head into his hands and bit back the hundred insulting remarks that immediately came to mind. "You might have realized if you'd listened to one single word I'd said when I talked to you the first time..."

"Well, if you hadn't been so damned insulting, maybe I would have listened!" she huffed.

He turned and glared at her. "Look," he shot firmly, "from the moment we heard you were here, my life's been on the line tryin' to help you. And then you go and do shit like screaming for help while we're gettin' you out, and walking up to Urko. I don't even want to hear it from you."

"Well, Mister Burke," she answered with pseudo control, "if you were actually helping me, I wouldn't have had to scream for help, now would I?"

"And if Urko was actually your dear and good friend, he wouldn't have taken a bullwhip to you, either." He paused, just briefly. "You think it's gonna be any better when you get to the High Council? When they decide you'll make a nice test subject for experimental brain surgery? After they make a public spectacle of you?" He glared at the window again, "Doesn't _get _any better than this around here, Christine. And the apes _aren't _your friends."

"I think I get that now, asshole!"

Pete threw up his hands. His patience was running out. "Then why in the _hell _don't you get this? I put my _life _on the line to help you! _Twice _over! You don't think I _knew _there was a very good chance he'd just shoot me point blank when I got between you two? And you're still talking to me like I'm the _enemy _here! Get it through your thick _head _already!"

She was quiet for a long moment, considering his words. Then finally, she answered. "Thank you for that," she said simply.

He growled just slightly, under his breath, and got up off the floor to pace a few steps. Her eyes followed him, and she found herself chewing at her bottom lip. "Pete...?"

He ended up at the window, but it was too high to really see out. Grabbing the bars, he pulled himself up and looked out, then dropped back down and paced some more. "Pete, what's wrong?"

He turned to look at her, and she stiffened. She couldn't see his expression, but she didn't imagine it was a terribly pleased one. He stared at her for a long moment, and then started pacing again. She could sense his tension from where she was seated. Was he _serious_ about the firing squad?

The thought made her shiver, and she hugged herself tighter. He wasn't serious. He _couldn't _be serious. But she had a feeling he was. "Pete...?" A shuddering sigh passed her lips. "I... I'm scared..."

He paused in his pacing and glanced at her. Just faintly, he could see the outline of her features in the moonlight. Yeah... she _looked _scared. He watched her for a moment, but then looked away. He didn't know what to tell her. After a long moment, he took a deep breath. "At least your life still has some value," he tried to reassure her. "Zaius will want to question you."

"What about you?" she asked quietly, unsurely.

"I've already been handed over to Urko," he mumbled. "As far as legalities are concerned... I belong to him right now. You're considered property of the High Council until they release you to him."

"What does that mean?" she asked. He didn't answer. A growing sense of dread was forming in the pit of her stomach. "What do you mean... you belong to him?"

Still he was quiet. He turned, and leaned back against the wall, still standing as he raised his hand and chewed on his thumbnail. She shifted uncomfortably. He was nervous. _Him_. The one who had seemed so damned untouchable...

"Pete?"

He dropped his hand, and gave a big sigh. "Last time it meant four days of torture and a scheduled brain surgery," he answered flatly. She swallowed hard. "And if it'd been up to Urko, he'da skipped right to the brain surgery and Galen and Alan woulda _never _gotten there in time."

"Oh." For a long moment, she wasn't sure what more to say. Experimental brain surgery. The prospect of death occurred to her again. But no..., they couldn't do that to her. Could they? Surely they couldn't... Her father would raise holy _hell_ if they even _thought _about it! But suddenly she realized... her father would have to _find _her first. And if what Pete said was true...

"Do you... think you could rescue me again?"

Pete stared at her. For a long moment, he just stared. Then, a brief, not-quite-cynical laugh escaped him. But it was all the answer she got. "Well?" she asked, more intensely. "I wanna go home."

He shook his head as he looked away. "Girl..." He sighed deeply. "There are probably thirty armed guards around this jail and Urko himself right out there." He gestured to the door. "If Alan and Galen are _stupid _enough to try and rescue you - and me - a _second _time, they're not gonna do it here."

"How are we gonna get out then?" she demanded.

"We're not."

The seriousness of his tone sent a chill through her. "What do you mean, we're not?"

He gave her an almost-sympathetic look, and was quiet for a long moment before gesturing slightly to the straw mat. "You'd best get some rest. You're gonna be doing a lot more running in the next few days."

She looked at the mat, but she was unable to move toward it. Her legs felt like jelly. The thought of doing more running tomorrow didn't help in the least. "What if I can't?" she asked quietly.

"Then they'll kill you."

Helplessness washed over her like a tidal wave, and took the breath right out of her lungs. For a long moment, she stared at him, then again at the mat. "What... about you?" she finally managed.

He shifted slightly, and turned to look again out the window, eyes drifting over the stars. "I'll be fine," he answered.

He watched out of the corner of his eye as she crawled over to the mat and turned her back to him. Another faint, sad smile formed on his lips, and then he raised his hand again, chewing on his thumbnail as his eyes went back to the sky.


	9. Chapter Nine: Second Attempt

CHAPTER NINE

SECOND ATTEMPT

"Can you see anything?"

Alan crouched at the edge of the brush, eyes narrowed at the outline of the village. "A whole lot of torches around that jail..."

Galen whimpered a bit, and squatted next to him, peeking through the thick brush at the city. "Urko must be expecting us," he sighed.

"I'm sure he is," Alan nodded. "And he's probably inside guarding the cells."

Galen nodded, and sighed deeply. It was going to be much more difficult this time to get into that jail than it had been last time; there was no doubt about that. It looked as if Urko had completely emptied Central City and brought all the police and any other military personnel with him.

Alan sighed deeply, "Any ideas, Galen?"

"None," He didn't even know where to start. "I could dist-", He stopped before he even started. They had done that so many times that Urko and his troops - who weren't _complete _idiots - were sure to have caught on by now.

Alan moved back a bit and sat down on the edge of a rock, eyes narrowed at the ground as he considered the possibilities. His mind was racing. But so far, he hadn't come across anything useful. "What if we made a _huge _distraction?" he considered. "We might be able to... set their horses free or something..."

"I'm sure they have a corral where they're keeping all of their horses," Galen answered. He was less than enthusiastic about the idea. "Probably where they were keeping you, but it's got to be just as guarded..."

Alan considered the possibility for a moment. "If we let the horses out... if nothing else it would slow them down _majorly_. They couldn't leave in the morning."

"If we're not shot in the process," Galen tried to remind him. But it was clear that Alan was not listening.

"But hopefully... if it distracted them _enough_..."

Galen sighed as his friend trailed off. "Alan... if we make such a large distraction, Urko will surely know that we've come for Pete and he'll _never _let us get close." He paused for a beat, and then continued. "For that matter, what's to stop him from _shooting _Pete, point blank, when we _do _arrive? If we give him warning that way... he'll be ready for us."

Alan looked away. Galen was right, and he knew it. He glanced again toward the lit-up torches. "So there goes _that _idea..."

"Is there any way to move in silently?" Galen tried, "So as not to alert Urko?"

Alan breathed deep, licking his lips as he thought hard. "There are an awful lot of them and if it were only one or two... Yeah. But I'm not sure how to render _that _many guards no threat without making a scene."

"Well, we'd better think of something," Galen mumbled. "If they leave in the morning, we'll never catch up..."

"What we _need _is some kind of... tranquilizer gun." He smiled almost sadly at that. He somehow _highly _doubted that was within their reach.

"A what?", Galen asked. He knew what a tranquilizer was and a gun, but how could they be one in the same? Guns were used to kill, not sedate.

Alan glanced at him and sighed. At the moment, he suddenly realized he had loadsof patience to explain things. It took his mind off of the problem he knew he _should _be thinking about. "In my time, they used special guns with darts and anesthesia in them. When they hit the target - usually a wounded animal they wanted to help - they'd put them to sleep."

Galen tipped his head as he considered that, a high noise in the back of his throat acknowledging the statement. "What a brilliant idea. Could we _make _one?" He had learned long ago not to put _anything _out of the question when it came to what his friends could and couldn't do.

Alan looked away. "Don't count on it," he mumbled, "If I had time, and a gun, and anesthesia, and something to use as darts... _maybe_. But we don't have _any _of that."

"Well there's plenty of guns right there," Galen gestured toward the jail. "If we only need one..."

"That still doesn't solve our other problems."

Galen frowned. "Well, there's anesthesia at the medical center, I'm sure."

Alan shook his head. There were so many things that could go wrong... He didn't want to bank his friend's life on a plan with so many faults. "Even if we got our hands on some kind of..."

He stopped abruptly, and Galen's head turned to him, waiting expectantly. "Got our hands on what?" Somewhere deep inside of him, a spark of hope flickered to life, and he could feel the excitement start to rise. When Alan paused like that, it usually meant he had an idea that just might work.

"I was thinking..." Alan turned, and stared at Galen for a long moment. "You know, they used to use _chloroform _as a medical anesthesia. I wonder if they have that or something _like _it in the medical center."

Galen half shrugged, shaking his head. "I'm no doctor; I wouldn't know. But they have forms of anesthesia there, I guarantee you that."

"I wonder if any of it is breathable."

"If it is... what will that do?" Galen asked. "I'm sure they won't have enough of it to put _all _those guards to sleep."

"Well, let's not be sure of anything until we take a look, huh?"

Alan was already moving. Galen only hesitated for an instant before following behind, around the darkened edge of the city, right at the edge of the brush.

The medical center was going to be a lot easier to get to than the jail was. In fact, there were no guards at all, anywhere save for the jail. They really were guarding Pete with everything they had. Galen couldn't help but be a little nervous about that, knowing that was where they were headed next.

"It's dark," Alan whispered, standing on his toes to look in through the window. "I don't think anyone's there."

"It's a small city," Galen answered. "It's likely that they've no need for twenty-four hour medical care. If anything happens, the doctor likely lives right here." He gestured to the home beside him.

Alan nodded, moving closer to the street and scanning for danger. Nothing moved. "I think it's clear," he hissed.

"Do you want me to stay here and make sure it _stays_ clear?" Galen offered. Any more time that he could supply Alan with would be helpful...

Alan considered it for a moment, but then shook his head. "I don't think they'll have any reason to come here. And I might need your help inside."

Galen nodded just slightly as Alan once again peered out into the street, scanning carefully for any sign that they were not alone before slipping to and in the door of the medical facility, Galen half a step behind. One good thing about this day and age... there were no such thing as locks on doors excepting those on jail cells.

They moved through the first room, where Alan knew there would ordinarily be a guard, back into the medical offices. There was a part of him that couldn't believe that there were absolutely no security measures at all to protect this medication and equipment. Their priorities were clear, that was for damn sure. He lit a lamp near the door, and gestured to the right window, as he moved to the left.

Windows closed off Alan turned his attention to the shelves of bottles along the far wall. "What are we looking for?" Galen tried, shifting nervously as he made his way over to where Alan was standing, staring at the bottles.

Alan suddenly realized that he had no idea what they would _call _what he was looking for even if they _had _it. "It's anesthetic." He could tell by the look on Galen's face that that meant nothing to him. "It _was _called chloroform in my time. But I haven't a clue what it would be called now..."

Galen whimpered, his head swiveling as he listened hard for any sign of approaching gorillas. "Oh, Alan, I don't like this..." he struggled.

Alan pulled down one of the bottles and opened it. "Let's just hurry up and get out of here," he prodded as he took a very brief smell of the liquid in the bottle.

Galen's hand wandered over the bottles. "What are we looking for?" he asked, watching Alan. He was smelling the medicines...

"It should be a clear, pleasant-smelling liquid," Alan explained. "And make sure you don't take a big whiff of it or you'll likely knock yourself right out." Something inside of him warned against this type of trial and error, but there simply wasn't time to run tests to find out which chemical actually was what he would call chloroform.

With a slight bit of hesitancy, Galen pulled one of the bottles from the shelf, opened it, and carefully smelled it. "No." He replaced the bottle back on the shelf. "How are we going to know which ones we have tested?"

"Set them aside." He pointed to the examining table behind them, and then briefly inhaled from the bottle in his hand. He gagged. That was most definitely not what he was looking for...

With a quick nod Galen put the few bottles that he had tested on the table and continued to smell for the right one. Alan glanced at him as he skipped over the bottles, picking and choosing a few at random. He was paying some mind to the names on them - when he could read them - although he knew they would do him no good. He couldn't even read most of them. It seemed doctors' handwriting hadn't improved at all over the last thousand years or so.

Suddenly, he took a breath of a sweet smelling liquid that almost immediately made him swoon. "Whoa..." He pulled it away, and held the counter in front of him with his free hand as he regained his balance.

"Hum?" Galen looked up with interest and concern. "Are you all right, Alan?"

Alan nodded, and the room spun. He wasn't sure if it was chloroform or something even more powerful. But whatever it was, it was potent. He replaced the cap and blinked hard. "Wow..." He rubbed his eyes, and lifted the closed bottle in an attempt to read the label. But it was far too scribbled to be legible. "Whatever this is... it'll work." Gradually, his head began to clear. "Provided it doesn't knock me out in the process..."

Galen frowned at the bottle. "It's not very much..." he observed. "Not for all those guards..."

"We don't need very much," Alan assured him. Galen watched as Alan set the bottle down and rummaged through the cabinets until he found whatever it was he was looking for. He returned with a few strips of cloth, and wound them around his hand. "We put that on here"- he gestured to the bottle, then raised his hand with the cloth. "-and I put my hand in their face and hold it there for a few seconds. They'll be out like a light."

Galen stared for a moment before nodding a silent approval. "Well, in that case, what are we waiting for?" He shifted uncomfortably as he glanced back at the door. "Who knows what torture Urko has inflicted upon Pete by this time."

Alan nodded, and grabbed up the bottle as he half-jogged to the door, not bothering to replace the bottles or unblock the windows. He put the light out, though, and hurried out of the building. He checked the street then darted across, disappearing back into the shadows quickly.

Galen followed tensely. How many times had they maneuvered their way through some kind of rescue mission? And still, he found himself nervous and uneasy, and perhaps more so now, with Urko himself so near to them. He could almost taste the danger. How many times could a person cheat death? With no time to ponder the question he followed Alan's dark form as it crept down the street in the shadows.

They paused a safe distance from the jail and Alan watched carefully for a long moment. He was pretty sure they were still out of sight. "There's a ton of them..." he breathed. He'd known that before, but somehow it seemed even more real now.

"Urko must have emptied Central City," Galen agreed. He nodded to the bottle still in Alan's hand. "Are you sure there will be enough of that to go around?"

Alan glanced at it and nodded. "I don't think we'll have a problem with that. It's just _getting_ to them without being _shot _that I'm worried about..." He took a deep breath and wound the cloth more tightly around his hand. "Don't breathe."

Galen whimpered slightly at the utter ridiculousness of that command. How long could Alan expect that he wouldn't breathe? In spite of it, he held his breath, watching as Alan opened the bottle, doused the rag, and held it away from him as it absorbed. "Wow, that's _really _strong..." Alan mumbled. "I dunno _what _that is..."

"Mmm?"

"It's stronger than chloroform..." Alan glanced briefly at him, and smiled just slightly. "You can breathe now. I just didn't want you to end up taking in too much of that stuff while the bottle was open."

Galen let out his breath as Alan tossed the bottle into his knapsack, and both of them turned their attention back to the jail. "Alright, stay close," Alan warned. "If we get separated, we could have even bigger problems than we have right now..."

Galen nodded. He had no problem sticking close to Alan. He had learned that even though Alan was only a human, he and Pete both had combat skills that he had never seen. Not all power was in brawn and muscle... He followed as Alan ducked back, and slipped around behind the jail, to the rear right corner.

As best he could tell, they had about six guards to get through either way they went to the door. Thankfully, the jail was at least near an overgrown area. The bushes provided them with cover. And potentially... a distraction.

Alan rattled the scraggly shrub in front of him. If he could get them to come to him, to see what was moving the bushes, he could have a great advantage. Unfortunately, that wasn't the way it worked. Instead, the bushes were promptly shot at. Alan hit the ground, flat on his stomach. Damn... they weren't taking _any _chances. He glanced back at Galen to make sure he was okay, but remained silent.

Galen exchanged brief, worried glances with him. That wasn't supposed to happen. The guards were a mite touchy. They were going to have to be even more careful than usual.

"What was that?" The authoritative voice was easily recognizable. Galen and Alan both tensed.

"The bushes moved."

Urko stared for a moment, directly at the place where Alan and Galen were pressed down. Neither one breathed. After a long moment, Urko turned back to his guard. "You are not here to shoot at bushes. You are here to shoot at Virdon and Galen if they should... attack." Urko chose his words carefully and Galen felt his hackles raise as he bit back a low growl. If they came out to wave, it would be considered an "attack".

Alan moved back a bit as Urko disappeared back inside, and Galen gave him room. "All right, new plan," Alan whispered. "We need a way to split them up..."

Galen whimpered, just slightly. "How are we going to get past Urko?" he hissed.

"We'll worry about that when we get in there," Alan assured.

Galen didn't like that, but he remained silent. He had nothing useful to add at the moment, and figured that, since that was the case, he'd be better to just not make any more noise. He watched as Alan contemplated the situation for a long moment, then shifted, picking up a large rock under his hand. Their eyes met again, briefly, and Alan pointed off to the left then touched his finger to his lips to signal quiet. Galen nodded, and prepared to bolt... quietly.

The rock hit the gorilla's shoulder, hard enough to elicit a sharp cry of pain as he dropped his weapon.

"What is it?"

He looked up Rafo, the guard standing beside him. "Something just hit me!" he exclaimed, rubbing his arm.

"What _kind_ of something?" Rafo waved the torch in his direction, chasing away some of the darkness.

"I don't know. It hit my arm. Bring the light over here, will you?"

On the other side of Rafo, the third guard craned his neck to see, but remained in place. He was under strict orders not to move until his shift was through. So was Rafo, for that matter, but he _was _the one with the torchlight. And he had to admit, he was a little curious himself as to what had hit Juno's arm, and where it had come from. Vaguely, he wondered if it was the human Urko was expecting. What was his name...? Virdon and the chimpanzee Galen, as well could they be attempting the rescue Urko warned they would? Surely they couldn't be _that _foolish...

Suddenly, he heard a rustling behind him. He spun, but he was already too late. A rag pressed hard to his face, a human hand against the back of his head, and his strength seeped away before he even had a chance to struggle. The last thing he saw before he slipped into the blackness were the eyes of the human.

Alan lowered him to the ground as quietly and quickly as possible, and then spun around to head back to the brush before he could be seen. Instantly, he found himself staring down the barrel of a rifle. He froze, eyes widening slightly. That... he had not expected.

He raised his hands slowly, not moving. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement, and his muscles tensed, ready to move. But he was careful not to let his gaze linger. Suddenly, Galen jumped at the gorilla. He would have been no match except for the fact that Alan promptly had the rag to the guard's face, holding him back to the wall. Almost as soon as the cloth came over the gorilla's face, his legs buckled and he collapsed.

Alan grabbed Galen by the shirt as he saw more guns level at them over his friend's shoulder, and he _dove _for the cover of the brush. But no shots rang. Instead, there was the confused conversation of two gorillas trying to determine if they'd really seen anything at all or if they'd only been imagining it in the darkness. The confusion wouldn't last long. Not when they saw their unconscious friend. Alan held his breath. If those guns started firing, they might as well come out and wave. Urko would know they were there...

Regaining his senses, and the sense of urgency, Alan unwound some of the cloths from his hand and handed it to Galen. The chimpanzee's eyes widened, but he didn't protest as Alan gestured to the gorilla coming toward them. The guards had split: one coming toward them and the other headed toward the fallen guard on the end. Alan could not be two places at once. Galen took a breath, and looked down at the cloth in his hand with a measured amount of worry.

Alan pushed off the ground with his foot. There were too many risks. They needed a more refined method to this madness or they _would _end up shot. At the very least, they'd end up unsuccessful. Urko already had been warned about "moving bushes". If they started moving too much... he was going to figure it out.

He could have easily put the rag to the gorilla's face. Instead, he put his knife to his throat, pressing just hard enough to draw a trickle of blood, and let the guard know he was _plenty_ serious. "Not a _sound_," he hissed. The gorilla straightened, muscles tensing. But he recognized the pain, and bowed to it.

Alan watched out of the corner of his eye as Galen attacked the gorilla. That worried him. Galen wasn't a fighter, and he knew it. He didn't like seeing his friend in such situations. But at the moment, there was no choice. But Galen was armed with a weapon more powerful than the gorilla's gun.

Galen shivered as the guard slid down. He, like his kind, was a pacifist. He hated violence, but he also realized that he had been given no choice. Violence... or execution. Not a hard decision. Besides, it wasn't like he was actually _hurting_ the gorilla. It was a medical anesthesia. He would be fine once he woke up.

Once he was sure Galen was safe, Alan led the gorilla at knifepoint around the back of the jail, where they had started. He was careful to keep the knife in place, the drugged rag down and away from the gorilla's face as they approached the two guards they had first seen. One was still rubbing his arm from where he'd been hit with the rock. "Put down your weapons now."

The gorilla spun, and stared at Alan for a moment, dumbfounded. "What the...?" His eyes widened immediately. This was the human Urko had warned them about. Who else would _dare _to hold a knife to an ape's throat?

"You've got three options," Alan stated, hurriedly but perfectly calm at the same time. "One, you argue. I kill him, and then you _might _kill me. Two, you yell for help. I kill him, and you might kill me. Either way you're out a good soldier, and _you _caused his death. Or you can put down the gun and nobody gets hurt."

The human was moving closer. Rafo gasped the gun, fighting to make a decision. He looked first at the weapon, then at the soldier the human had on the edge of his blade. If that human killed the soldier, it would indirectly be his fault. Ape shall never kill ape... Reluctantly, he dropped the gun. "You'll never make it out of here alive," he snarled at Alan.

"Maybe," Alan agreed.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Galen sprang toward the "injured" gorilla whom had also lowered his weapon. The momentary distraction was all Alan needed. In one smooth, well-planned maneuver, he'd switched the knife with the rag on the gorilla in front of him, and moved the knife to the _other _guard's throat. He turned, putting himself between the two of them and backing his new victim to the wall. Silently and effectively, he'd moved on to his next target.

Galen looked to him, hands shaking from nervousness. Alan gave him a sympathetic smile, and cast a sideways glance at the form on the ground. "Good, Galen," he offered quietly. "Why don't you stay behind me and take it easy for a while."

Galen nodded enthusiastically, and Alan's eyes turned to the guard he still held to the wall. "Now. You. Walk."

The gorilla emitted a low growl from his throat, but he complied.


	10. Chapter Ten: Urko

**Chapter Ten**

**Urko**

"Hey, Urko."

Urko growled as he glared at the door. It was the middle of the night. Did this stupid human never shut up? "What do you want?"

"Well, I want to get the hell out of this cage, but I'd settle for a drink of water."

He growled. He'd had more than enough of her demands. "Go to sleep, human."

"I'm thirsty."

"You're lucky that you are still alive to be thirsty."

"Look, asshole, I..."

"Christine..." The other voice from inside the cell was a remarkably ironic relief. "Give it a rest, will you? It's gotta be three o'clock in the morning."

"Well, I'm thirsty."

Urko's eyes slid closed, resting but still on alert. He would sleep when he got back to Central City. Until then, he was ultimately the one responsible for ensuring that these humans did not escape. For that reason, in spite of the guards around the jail, sleeping in shifts and constantly vigilant, he himself was stationed outside the door of the cell. He wanted nothing to go wrong.

"Urko."

His eyes opened again, and his anger surged. He stood, grabbed his weapon, and stormed to the cell door, unlocking it and throwing it open. The female stumbled backward and fell, staring up at him with a shocked look on her face. Against the far wall, beneath the window, Burke glanced up. He seemed almost disinterested, arms resting on his knees and face expressionless.

Urko readied his gun, and aimed it at the female on the floor. "Do you want to live to see morning?" he demanded.

She stared back, still stunned. But he could read the fear in her eyes at the sight of a gun pointed directly at her head. "Go. To sleep!" he ordered. He stepped back from the cell, slammed the door hard, and returned to his chair.

For a few moments, it was actually silent. Then he heard the quiet talking between the two humans in the cell. He couldn't make out what they were saying, and he didn't really care. As long as they were quiet. Urko's eyes slid shut again, lids becoming heavier the longer he sat staring at the cell door. He shook his head, trying to fight off the onset of sleep. But as the relative silence continued, he realized there was really no use. Besides, he would have plenty of warning if anything should happen. Surely a few minutes of resting his eyes wouldn't hurt...

Halfway between consciousness and sleep, Urko wasn't sure he if he'd actually heard a door open somewhere, or if it had only been in his mind. With tired eyes, he half-heartedly turned his head to see if his imagination was playing tricks on him.

Instantly, his eyes were wide, and every indication of sleep was long gone. Directly in his line of sight was the light-haired human, carrying a knife in one hand and a cloth rag in the other. Before Urko's eyes had a chance to adjust, or to identify the figure behind him, the human had lunged at him.

Urko sprang to his feet, flinging the chair halfway across the room in the process. His gun, having been propped up against the stool, fell. Almost immediately, Virdon had kicked it away, sending it skittering across the floor. Urko growled. He didn't need it. He would rip this human apart with his bare hands...

Alan had just enough time to regain his balance, and check his grip on both the knife and the rag. He had a feeling he was going to need both. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Galen race to the cell. "Pete!"

"What the...?"

Alan braced, and dodged Urko's grip at the last second. If that gorilla got his hands around his neck, there was no way in hell he'd be able to get out. Equally dangerous, out of the corner of his eye he saw the door to where he assumed there were more guards sleeping. If they heard the commotion, they would be severely outnumbered. Urko's pride and current anger would likely keep him from calling for help. But they would still overhear. He had to block that off. And now.

Alan bolted, sweeping up the overturned chair along the way and jamming it under the handle to the door a fraction of a second before Urko nearly jammed him into the door. He brought the knife up instinctively, but caught only air with the blade.

"Galen!" Pete's voice almost distracted him, but now quite. "What the hell is...?"

"Where are the keys!" Galen demanded.

"Urko has them!"

Alan's eyes remained locked on his opponent, who was beginning to circle him now. Apparently, his overzealous, knee-jerk reaction had been broken upon realizing that Alan was, in fact, armed. Alan gripped the knife tighter. "I am sure you will soon find that this was very poor judgement, Virdon," Urko threatened.

"Are you all right, Pete?"

"Yeah, we're fine."

Alan lowered his head, breathing hard, jaw set. Instincts were returning, as they always did in these sorts of combat situations. Kill or be killed. That was all there was to it. And somehow... he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not when this person he faced was... well... Alan wasn't sure what difference it made. He really wasn't. But for some reason, he hesitated.

Maybe it was just the fact that he was naive. The fact that Urko really and truly didn't understand. Maybe it was the fact that Alan was the one who was the enemy of the state, not the other way around. Maybe the simple fact that the idea of close killing had always bothered him - even as a soldier - somewhere in the back of his mind. If he had to fight, he didn't ever want to see his opponent's eyes. Or maybe just because he didn't want to have to explain to Galen, or any other ape, who would then struggle with the fact that he was as savage and wild as any other human - if not more so.

Whatever the reason, Alan hesitated. Whatever the reason, he watched the window of opportunity - in which he could have easily moved in, jerked his arm up, and slit the gorilla's throat - open and then shut again. And he let it pass, still pacing with him, eyes locked.

"Jesus!" Pete's voice once again very nearly distracted him. "He's gonna...! Get me outta here, Galen, c'mon!"

Alan knew where the keys were. He knew they weren't getting out of that cell unless he retrieved them. But getting to them was another matter entirely.

Suddenly, Urko lunged. Alan saw it, and he braced instinctively. But he didn't move. Urko's hand closed around his wrist, and he flung him to the floor like a rag doll. In that instant, Alan was a hell of a lot closer to his enemy than he cared to be. But at the same time, it was as close as he needed to be. He dropped the knife - he had to - and grabbed for the keys on Urko's belt, ripping them free and hurling them across the floor toward Galen.

He hit the ground hard on his shoulder, and shooting pain ran through him. He knew instinctively from the level of pain that he'd just been injured, and his right arm was useless. Now unarmed, he was immediately jerked back up by Urko's grip on his shirt. "Now you will see what I think of humans who don't know their place," Urko hissed.

Alan felt anger rise up inside of him, borne of pain and frustration and adrenaline, and he growled low in his throat. In one hard, forceful movement, he brought his good arm up, raising the rags into the inch of space between their faces. The sweet, dizzying scent washed over him as he pressed the rag into Urko's face, and he felt his own eyes roll back as the gorilla's grip loosened. Alan let the darkness come and once again, with expert ease, placed his life squarely in the hands of his two friends...

The door to the sleeping quarters was beginning to rattle against the chair. Pete was very close to rattling the door to his own cell as Galen finally found the right key and shoved it hard into the lock, twisting it free. Pete threw the door open so hard it banged against the wall and just about fell off its hinges. In an instant, he was at Alan's side, prying Urko's fingers from his shirt. Even half-conscious, he was strong as an ox.

Pete caught a whiff of the sweet smelling drug and blinked at the cloth. Chloroform? No. Too damn strong. He swooned a bit. "Whoo..." What was that shit? He quickly unwound the rag from his friend's hand, and dropped it on the floor. Whatever it was, it had done its job well. Urko was definitely unconscious. Unfortunately, so was Alan, and Pete struggled to maneuver under his arm, to hold him up. "Galen!"

Galen was at his side in an instant, and Christine stood at the door to the cell, wide-eyed and unsure. The door to the sleeping quarters began to splinter. "Pete!" Galen hissed. "We have to get out of here!"

"Yeah, I know," Pete answered, urgent but remarkably collected given the circumstances. Christine stared at him in awe. "Gimme a hand, will you?"

Galen slid under Alan's other shoulder, and they started for the door. "Are there guards outside?" Pete questioned, eyeing Urko's gun for a long moment.

"Not awake," Galen assured.

Christine could hear her heart beating in her ears as the door cracked. "Hurry!"

"Go!" Pete yelled at her, picking up the pace as he and Galen fell into a rhythm.

Christine stumbled toward the door, a half step in front of the other three. Just as they were almost to the front door, it flew open. A half-conscious gorilla stood in their path, clearly confused but also clearly armed. Christine screamed.

Pete ducked out from under Alan's arm and tackled the guard full-force. He fell to the floor easily, and Pete threw all his strength into a right cross. To his surprise, that was all it took. The gorilla was unconscious with one blow.

Galen was nearly collapsing under Alan's weight. "Pete..."

He pulled himself off the ground in time to see Christine duck under Alan's other arm. Instantly, Pete realized something didn't look right. "Careful!" he warned. Christine froze and he bolted to them. "His shoulder looks dislocated," Pete explained.

He took Christine's place, supporting Alan's weight with a hand around his waist rather than his arm. Behind him, he heard the door shatter into fragments, and raced to the door. Galen gestured to the left as they stumbled out into the darkness. "Go that way!" Galen ordered. He was already trying to move toward the left. Pete followed his lead, carrying Alan into the barely visible path into the overgrown area, and toward safety.

Alan took in a breath. It was more difficult than he'd thought it would be. For a moment, he found himself struggling for it, as if he had been underwater for a long time. Finally, he was able to reach the surface, and he gasped in a deep breath. He tried to open his eyes - a little too fast - and cringed as light touched them. "Ah!"

"Careful, Alan."

Pete's voice was familiar, and comforting. He knew by the tone that wherever he was, he was safe. In a significant amount of pain, but safe. Pete wasn't worried, and there was no other sound around him. Vaguely, he remembered what had happened, and why he felt this way. One hell of a hangover...

He tried again to open his eyes, this time a little slower, and more carefully. The light was coming from a small fire nearby. He watched it for a moment, and let his eyes slide closed again. "You okay?" he managed.

"Yer the one who's been unconscious," Pete reminded, opening one eye to look at him. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

It was an attempt at humor, but Pete was too tired to make it work. Alan let a slight smile creep to his lips. "_You're _the one who was spending some quality time with Urko..."

"Yeah, and you're the one with the dislocated shoulder."

Alan turned his head to look at his right arm. "Dislocated, huh?" he mumbled. "No wonder it hurts so bad."

"I went ahead and set it back while you were under," Pete informed. "But you did a number on it."

Alan nodded. "I believe it," he cringed. "It hurts like hell..." He felt as if someone had taken a hack saw to his shoulder joint.

"I don't think it's broken. But we still need to keep an eye on it."

Alan breathed deep, and closed his eyes again, trying to relax and will away the realization of pain. "You never answered my question," he finally stated.

"What question?"

"You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Pete assured. "Exhausted as all hell, but okay." A slight smirk crept across his face. "Now that you're up from your nice little nap, you can keep watch for a while."

"Mmm," Alan acknowledged. "It was some form of medical anesthesia. Thought it might be comparable to chloroform."

"Think it was a little stronger than chloroform."

"Mmm hmm."

Pete watched him for a moment, then rested his head back against the wall of the cave, breathing deep. His eyes hurt, and he let them slide closed. He had a headache behind them. A quiet groan from Alan made him look again, and he frowned as he saw his friend trying to get up. "You might as well just lay back down and get some rest," Pete mumbled. "The whole area out there is _crawling _with gorillas. And you're in no shape to go wandering the countryside anyways."

"Where are we?" Alan rubbed at his eyes as he finally managed to sit up. He couldn't believe the effort it took, or the pain it caused. He held his arm in his lap, cradling it and wishing more than ever that he had some painkillers available. "How far from the city?"

"Not far enough," Pete sighed. "But we couldn't very well carry you all the way to the ship. And there's no way in hell we can travel during the day with Urko and every soldier within a ten mile radius shooting to kill..."

"Right." Alan looked up, and his eyes wandered over the cave walls and ceiling. Briefly, they lingered on the sleeping figures of Galen and Christine. "What are the chances they'll find us here?"

"Slim," Pete assured, noticing where Alan's gaze remained. "And even if they do, there's two ways outta here. We can get out the back way if it comes to that."

"How is she?" Alan gestured.

Pete glanced in her direction and shrugged slightly. "She's all right." A very faint, tired smile crept across his face. "I think we've finally come to an understanding."

"About what?"

"About good guys and bad guys."

Alan smirked. "Where do we stand?"

"She still seems to think we're the stupidest people to ever walk the planet," Pete frowned. "But she's willing to take us to the ship even if it's not going to do us any good."

"Why does she think that it won't do us any good?"

Pete sighed, and shook his head. "Alan... would you have believed - before you saw, that is - that the ruling civilization on this planet knows less about technology than you and I do?"

Alan looked away. "Probably not," he admitted.

"She knows they _won't _help her. Doesn't quite understand that they _can't_."

Alan nodded slightly.

"And either way, she might be right," Pete continued after a moment's pause. "There's no guarantee we're qualified to fly her ship or that we can reverse whatever process brought us here. We might be no better off than they are for all our training and experience..."

"Hey, I'll _learn _how to fly it," Alan stated, determination ringing in his voice.

Pete smirked slightly. "Trial and error, huh?"

Alan faked a returning smile. Trial and error with their very lives as a bargaining chip was probably not particularly wise. "Always worked before," he joked quietly.

Pete laughed. "Right, Colonel," he answered, closing his eyes a bit. "I'll remember that."

Alan forced himself to relax a little. He realized he had a splitting headache, and massaged at his temples with his good arm to try and reduce it, even in the slightest bit. _Must be a side effect of the anesthesia..._ That probably also explained why he was sick to his stomach. He lay back down carefully.

"How's Galen?"

"Fine," Pete answered. "Tired." His eyes drifted briefly to the chimpanzee. "Glad we found this place. Dunno how much further we coulda carried you..."

"How long was I out for?"

Pete glanced toward the entrance of the cave. It was blocked from view, but he could still see the shadows cast by whatever light was outside. "It's still dark out, but it's gotta be gettin' close to dawn by now."

Alan took in a deep breath of the cool but stale air. "Man... that's some strong stuff..."

"Any idea what it was called?"

"Dunno," Alan admitted. "The bottle is still in my bag, though. Maybe you can decipher the doctor's hand writing."

Pete glanced at the bag, but decided he probably couldn't read it even if it was typed out in plain English. His eyes wouldn't focus that long. He closed them again. "Maybe later."

"You haven't slept, have you?" Alan realized.

"Uh uh." Pete's eyes half-opened, and he smiled faintly. "Wanted to make sure you actually came out of it."

Alan smiled gratefully. "Thanks. I'll be fine, though. You need to get some rest."

"Mmm hmm." Pete knew _exactly _how badly he needed rest. "Know? It's funny... I used to pull all-nighters no problem in school... Now I can't keep my eyes open..."

"That was a long time ago," Alan reminded with a slight smile.

"Yeah, 'bout a thousand years, right?" Pete grinned back, eyes closed.

Alan rubbed his forehead and glanced once more at Galen and Christine. "What do our provisions look like?" he asked. "Are we okay until nightfall?"

"Got water," Pete mumbled. "No food."

"Is there food around here?"

Pete groaned. "Don't go wanderin' around out there, Alan... _Last _thing we need is for _you _to get caught now. I've seen enough of that jail to last me a lifetime."

Alan smiled, and his eyes lingered for a moment on his friend. The smile gradually replaced with concern. "You know, you're making me hurt just looking at you..."

Pete laughed.

"Get some rest, Pete," Alan urged. "Those guards aren't gonna be coming 'round here for a while if they are out like I was."

Pete shrugged his shoulders out of his bag and tossed it on the floor of the cave, surprised by how much effort it took to move. "Sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay," Alan assured.

Pete turned to face the wall and lay down. "Good. 'Cause I dunno if I'd do you a hell of a lot of good if you _weren't _okay..."

Alan chuckled, and silence descended on them. Pete's eyes opened, and for a long moment, he stared at the wall before speaking. "Hey, Alan?"

Alan tensed just slightly at the calm, serious tone. It wasn't all that often that Pete _used _that tone. No sarcasm, no joking, no urgency. Almost conversational and yet serious enough to be dangerous. "Yeah?" he answered back, eyes locked on his friend.

Pete hesitated for just a moment, then turned onto his back, looking up. Their eyes locked, and Pete forced a slight smile. "Thanks."

Alan watched him for a moment, and nodded, smiling just slightly. There was no need for him to say anything, and he knew it. What was there to say, really? In this world, in this time and place, death was commonplace. They had outwitted it time and time again, but that meant nothing for the one time they _didn't _escape.

A thousand years ago, it was only in times of war that one relied on his comrades to protect his life, every minute of every day. And only in times of war did he find nothing more to say to the man who saved his life than a casual "thanks". But what more was there to say? In another week, or month, he would save _his _life, and the favor would be repaid. Alternatively, he would fail. Then the story would end, and the debt would be forgotten.

Life was short, fragile. Alan was acutely aware of the fact that it only really took a single bullet to end his existence. Or Pete's. Or Galen's. What then? Fewer people to watch out for each other, to say nothing of the personal loss. They couldn't survive. They simply couldn't. They _needed_ each other, and unlike times of war... there was no option to leave a man behind. It wasn't even possible. Without every one, their chances of survival diminished greatly.

Now there was also Christine to think about. She would help them, yes. But inevitably, they would help her so much more. To learn the ways of this world, and to survive. Alan had no doubt that their necks would be on the chopping block again for her sake, and he had no reservations about allowing it. Because maybe, just maybe, it could pay off. Maybe, from the help they gave to her, they would gain a way home. And that, above all, was the ultimate pay off.

"Hey Alan..."

"Hmm?" Alan glanced over and saw Pete facing the wall again.

"From what Christine was saying... that ship's out in the desert somewhere." He paused for a beat. "It might take us a few days to find it."

Alan didn't answer. It was clear from the finality of Pete's tone that he wasn't really expecting an answer. He sighed as he closed his eyes, breathing deep. He needed to start thinking about how they were going to survive wandering around in the desert. But they had to go. There was absolutely no question about that. They had to search, even if it meant searching every inch of that desert. If not to search for that ship... what did they have left?

Alan took in a breath, and turned on his side, his arm curled under his head. Somehow, they would survive. Somehow, they'd find that ship. Somehow, maybe even soon, he would be home. Somehow...


	11. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

**The song is by Queen. **

Pete had been listening to her humming for the past forty-five minutes. But it was only within the past forty-five _seconds_ that he realized what she was singing under her breath. "Never thought I'd hear that song again..."

"Huh?" she asked, startled as she turned to him.

"That song you're humming," he clarified.

She chuckled. "Oh. Yeah. Well, ya know... it was good music!"

"What music?" Galen questioned, curious.

"What she's humming," Pete answered him. "It's probably nothing at all like your music now."

Alan considered it for a moment. "You know, honestly, I don't think I've even _heard_ music here..."

"Oh, we have music," Galen assured him. "At parties. At upstanding social gatherings."

Pete smirked at the idea of an ape-run disco club. "Right."

The conversation fizzled out. Christine began humming again. This time, she was less subtle about it, hitting her thigh and snapping her fingers in time. _Pat, pat, snap! Pat, pat, snap!_ Pete found himself chuckling to himself again, though now it was more at the look Galen was giving the girl. "Is that your music?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"Huh?" Christine was once again startled out of her song. "Oh. Yes." She smiled. "It's one of those songs that you only ever hear in a stadium. But you hear it in _every _stadium."

"Stadium?" he questioned.

"It's real simple." She stopped, right where she was standing, and let her backpack fall off of her shoulders. The other three came to a halt as well, the two humans looking around for any sign of danger before turning their attention to her. "Just use your hands and pat your legs - or stomp your feet if you're so inclined, though I never really was much for stamping feet - and clap on the third one. I was snapping because I didn't want to be intrusive."

Galen "oohed" and nodded, but after a moment's pause it was clear that he hadn't the slightest idea what she was saying. Alan chuckled. "Like this Galen," he demonstrated, hitting his leg twice and then clapping. He repeated it, and Christine joined him on the second time around.

"And... that's it?" Galen asked as he watched the pattern. It seemed entirely too simple and repetitive to provide amusement for too very long.

"No, there's lyrics to it, too," Alan informed, still patting and clapping.

"Ooh..." Galen nodded... then tipped his head to the side. "What lyrics?"

Alan stopped, then Christine. "Oh, I don't remember them all in honesty..." Alan mumbled. "It's been too long. But maybe Christine does."

He gestured to her, and three sets of eyes turned. She laughed a bit. "I know some of them. Not all."

"Oh!" Galen seemed thrilled by that. "Well, please! Share what you do know."

She flushed, and Pete smirked again, then hit his thighs. Alan joined in on the clap, and even Galen tried - though the coordination wasn't really there for him like it was for the three humans. It took him a moment to find the pace.

"We will... we will... rock you..." She was still slightly red in the face, eyes down, voice wavering slightly. She wasn't terribly comfortable being put on the spot, especially when she clearly _didn't_ know the words to the song. That wasn't surprising. It was only about five hundred years older than she was... _He_ certainly didn't know songs written back in the 1400s...

Pete took over.

"Buddy you're a boy, make a big noise, playing in the street, gonna be a big man someday; you got mud on your face, you're big disgrace, kickin' your can all over the place singin'..."

"We will, we will rock you!" Alan and Christine both joined in for what they knew. He glanced at her and saw her eyes bright, the blush gone as she beamed ear to ear. "We will, we will rock you!"

"Buddy you're a young man, hard man, shouting in the street, gonna take on the world someday; you got blood on your face, you're big disgrace, waving your banner all over the place..."

"We will, we will rock you!" This time, even Galen joined in the singing, and it was all Pete could do to keep from busting out laughing. He couldn't help but wonder if Queen could have _possibly _fathomed that a thousand years in the future, three human fugitives and a renegade talking ape would be singing their song. "We will, we will rock you!"

"Buddy you're an old man, poor man, pleading with your eyes, gonna... something something be someday; you got mud on your face, big disgrace, somebody better put you back into your place."

Christine was laughing at the forgotten words. She almost forgot to join into the chorus. "We will, we will rock you! We will, we will rock you!"

Pete smiled to her her, then Galen, then Alan. His gaze lingered there for a long moment as he shared knowing glances with his collegue. Somewhere in the back of all their minds, the lingering sound of an electric guitar solo lifted their spirits... Only a memory...

**The End**


End file.
